fa  <^&urt*  ^j^j^fo^ 


o 


George  W as  fling  ton  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 
COLONEL  FLOWERS 


IF 


I 


Copyrighted? 

1926 
C.  J.  BLACK 
Kings  Mountain,  N.  C, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST 
CHURCH  OF  KINGS  MOUNTAIN,  N.  C 


By 


Gi  J.  BLACK 


Author  of  History  of  Brown  Creek-Union 
Baptist  Association,  History  of  Loray  Bap- 
tist Church,  History  of  ,  Sandy  Plains  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  The  Origin  of  the  Bap* 
tistSv 


"Upon  this  Rock  I  will  build  my  Church 
and  the  gates  of  hfell  shall  not  prevail 
against  it"  Christ 


THE  HERALD  PUBLISHING  HOUSE 
Kings  Mountain,  N.  G. 


REV.  C.  J.  BLACK 

■ 


2&6 

H613 
H24 


DEDICATION 


To  Mrs.  Lucinda  Cornwell,  Mrs.  J.  T.  Ken* 
clrick,  Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter,  who  came 
here  and  labored  and  prayed  until  a  Bap- 
tist church  was  organized,  and  to  that 
noble  band  of  faithful  Baptists  who  loved 
their  Savior  enough  to  launch  a  Baptist 
program  in  Kings  Mountain  ,this  little  vol- 
ume is  cheerfully  dedicated. 


THE  BIG  MONUMENT  ON  THE  KINGS  MOUNTAIN 
BATTLEFIELD 


(Opposite  page) 


Beneath  thy  grandeur  once  was  wrought, 
The  peace  that  our  forefathers  sought. 

To  free  us  from  a  tyrant's  hand. 
So  now  we  fight  for  Him    who  gave 
His  life  to  overcome  the  grave, 

That  He  might  reign  throughout  the  land. 

— John  H.  Floyd. 


FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH, 


INDEX 

Page 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  TOWN  OF  KINGS  MOUNTAIN,  N.  C. 

Its  location — Early  settlers — Chief  characteristics — 
Leading  industries — Its  churcibes  and  religious  life. 

 ;   1 


THE  BATTLE  THAT  MADE  THE  TOWN  FAMOUS. 

When  fought — The  leading  officers — Relatives  of  the 
heroes  who  live  in  Kings  Mountain — The  relation  of 
this  battle  to  American  civilization! — T|his  battle  a 
challenge  to  every  citizen  of  our  town  31 


THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  TO  LIVE  IN  KINGS  MOUNTAIN. 

Where  reared — Wihen  and  where  she  made  a  profes- 
sion 'Of  religion) — Her  first  church  relations — When 
sihe  mioved  to  this  town — Her  loyalty  to  the  Baptist 
faith  ,    94 


EARLY  BAPTIST  BEGINNINGS. 

The  second  Baptist  to  move  to  this  town — The  first 
preaching — Struggles  of  the  first  Baptists  102 

THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  FIRST  CHURCH. 

Where  organized — When  organized — The  first  pastor 
— Tjhe  first  deacons — The  first  clerk — The  first  Sun- 
day School  .   125 


THE  FIRST  BUILDING. 

How  the  lot  was  secured — -Other  lots  secured — Erec- 
tion of  the  first  house — The  struggle  the  members 
had  to  build  the  first  ihouse  135 


THE  PASTORS  WHO  SERVED  FROM  THE  ORGANI- 
ZATION UNTIL  19  00. 

Elder  M.  P.  Matiheny — J.  E.  McManaway — F.  C. 
Hickacn. — P.  G.  Hopper — T,  Bright — J.  A.  Hoyle- - 
A.  M.  Ross  __________  __  _  146 


THE  PASTORS  WHO  SERVED  FROM  19  00  TO  1926. 

A.  H.  Sims — J.  J.  Beach — J.  M.  Hamrick — J.  G. 
Graham —  J.  R.  Miller — W.  R.  Beach — J.  O.  Fulbright 
Walter  N.  Johnson — C.  J.  Black  181 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

When  organized — -The  first  superintendent — Other 
superintendents — Numlber  of  scholars  enrolled  under 
each  superintendent — The  first  secretary — Other  sec- 
retaries— The  present  Sunday  School — What  the  Sui> 
day  Scihtool  has  meant  to     the     church — Its  urgent 


needs  24  0 

THE  WOMAN'S  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

When  Organized — The  first  president — The  first  sec- 
retary—-Divided  into  circles — What  it  has  meant  to 
the  work  here  277 


B.  Y.  P.  U. 

When  organized — Different  organizations — The  pres- 
ent organization — The  manner  of  the  early  B.  Y.  P. 
U. — The  literature  used — Who  belonged  to  it — The 
Juniors  organized — The  Intermediates  organized-- 
Their  leaders,  and  the  work  as  it  is  today — The  City 
B.  Y.  P.  U.  organized  312 

THE  FIRST  CLERK. 

And  ether  clerks  who  have  served  from  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  until  19  26 — The  importance  of  the 
clerk's  office  32  9 

THE  BOARD  OF  DEACONS    337 

THE  CHURCH'S  PRESENT  OUTLOOK. 

Our  membersship — Our  Young  People — Our  oppor- 
tunity— Our  respcnisibility  34  4 

THE  CHURCHES  ROUND  ABOUT. 

Bethlehem  -The  Second  Church — Macedonia  — Their 
membership — Pastors — And  their  Sunday  Schools  __ 

  34  9 


INTRODUCTION. 

Many  things  have  been  written  concern- 
ing Kings  Mountain  and  its  famous  battle 
which  turned  the  tide  of  British  oppression 
in  our  country  and  stopped  the  cruelties  of 
the  desperate  Tories  for  all  ages  to  come, 
but  no  one  has  ever  undertaken  to  write  a 
history  of  a  church,  or  any  history  from  a 
religious  standpoint  before. 

The  author  of  this  little  book  undertook 
this  because  he  felt  if  he  did  not,  things  of 
much  interest  would  be  lost.  Much  of  this 
story  is  not  on  record,  and  has  to  be  gotten 
from  old  people  who  have  been  here  all  of 
these  years  and  have  seen  the  town  and  the 
churches  from  their  beginning.  Many  of 
those  who  knew  much  about  the  early  hist- 
ory of  our  church  have  long  since  passed 
over,  but  several  have  been  left  to  tell  the 
story  as  best  they  could.  The  writer  re- 
grets very  much  that  he  did  not  decide  to 
write  this  little  history  before  Mrs.  J.  T. 
Kendrick  died  April  1st.,  1925.  She 
knew  as  much  about  the  work  as  any 
one  in  this  section,  but  we  waited  too  late 
to  get  the  information  she  had  cherished 
in  her  heart  for  many  years.  But  we  have 
put  our  heads  together  and  have  gotten 
many  things  of  interest  to  future  genera- 
tions, if  this  little  volume  is  preserved. 
Brother  J.  C.  Baumgardner,  Brother  J.  R. 
Reynolds,  Rev.  Ben  Hoke,  and  the  living 


pastors  of  the  church  together  with  Sisters 
Callie  Carpenter,  Mrs.  R.  A.  Scott,  Mrs.  J. 
R.  Reynolds,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Dye,  and  sev- 
eral others  have  been  great  helpers  in  this 
task. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  author  that  those 
who  read  may  not  look  for  a  history  of  the 
battle  in  this  little  volume,  but  that  they 
may  realize  that  this  is  a  history  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Kings  Mountain, 
and  that  it  does  not  touch  the  battle  only 
as  it  is  related  to  this  church. 

Of  course  many  things  pertaining  to  the 
battle  have  been  recorded  in  this  book,  but 
nothing  has  been  recorded  that  was  not 
necessary  for  the  making  of  this  little 
story  in  this  book.  The  battle  is  so  fixed  in 
this  community  that  it  is  impossible  to 
write  anything  worth  while  about  any- 
thing without  mentioning  it.  Nearly 
every  family  in  this  section  that  has 
been  here  for  any  time,  is  related  in  some 
way  to  the  heroes  of  the  battle.  The  truth 
of  it  is,  nearly  all  of  Cleveland  county  is 
related  in  some  way  to  those  who  fought 
in  that  bloody  battle,  and  because  of  this, 
the  history  of  Cleveland  county  cannot  be 
written  without  writing  a  history  of  that 
battle.  Almost  every  original  family  in  this 
county  is  related  either  directly,  or  indi- 
rectly to  those  who  fought  there.  We  might 
say,  Kings  Mountain  was  the  beginning  of 


the  civilization  of  this  section  of  the  Unit- 
ed States. 

The  readers  will  notice  that  many  of  the 
things  recorded  as  having  taken  place  dur- 
ing the  first  ten  years  of  the  history  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  are  very  indefi- 
nite. This  is  because  the  records  for  the 
first  ten  years  have  been  lost,  and  all  the 
writer  had  to  get  his  information  from 
was  those  who  lived  here  and  belonged  to 
the  church  from  its  beginning.  As  you 
know,  this  is  a  very  poor  way  to  record 
facts.  Some  times  traditions  are  correct, 
then  again,  they  are  far  from  it.  It  is  so 
easy  to  get  things  tangled,  and  in  the  tan- 
gle, to  get  them  altogether  wrong;  but 
however  the  case  may  be,  the  Writer  has 
done  his  best  to  get  at  the  facts  in  this 
case,  and  what  he  records  as  fact,  he  has 
found  sufficient  proof  to  convince  him  that 
they  are  facts,  and  nothing  else.  But  would 
it  not  have  been  so  much  better  for  all  of 
us  if  we  could  have  had  the  old  records  so 
that  we  could  have  placed  a  full  account 
of  the  organization  in  this  little  book? 
How  very  important  it  is  that  we  keep  our 
records,  and  yet  how  careless  we  have  been 
with  them. 

Many  of  our  churches  twice  as  old  as  this 
one  have   their  records  complete.     Take  j 
Bethlehem  as  an  example.  They  have  all  of 
their  records,  and  they  are  in  good  shape. 


pastors  of  the  church  together  with  Sisters 
Callie  Carpenter,  Mrs.  R.  A.  Scott,  Mrs.  J. 
R.  Reynolds,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Dye,  and  sev- 
eral others  have  been  great  helpers  in  this 
task. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  author  that  those 
who  read  may  not  look  for  a  history  of  the 
battle  in  this  little  volume,  but  that  they 
may  realize  that  this  is  a  history  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Kings  Mountain, 
and  that  it  does  not  touch  the  battle  only 
as  it  is  related  to  this  church. 

Of  course  many  things  pertaining  to  the 
battle  have  been  recorded  in  this  book,  but 
nothing  has  been  recorded  that  was  not 
necessary  for  the  making  of  this  little 
story  in  this  book.  The  battle  is  so  fixed  in 
this  community  that  it  is  impossible  to 
write  anything  worth  while  about  any- 
thing without  mentioning  it.  Nearly 
every  family  in  this  section  that  has 
been  here  for  any  time,  is  related  in  some 
way  to  the  heroes  of  the  battle.  The  truth 
of  it  is,  nearly  all  of  Cleveland  county  is 
related  in  some  way  to  those  who  fought 
^in  that  bloody  battle,  and  because  of  this, 
the  history  of  Cleveland  county  cannot  be 
written  without  writing  a  history  of  that 
battle.  Almost  every  original  family  in  this 
county  is  related  either  directly,  or  indi- 
rectly to  those  who  fought  there.  We  might 
say,  Kings  Mountain  was  the  beginning  of 


the  civilization  of  this  section  of  the  Unit- 
ed States. 

The  readers  will  notice  that  many  of  the 
things  recorded  as  having  taken  place  dur- 
ing the  first  ten  years  of  the  history  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  are  very  indefi- 
nite. This  is  because  the  records  for  the 
first  ten  years  have  been  lost,  and  all  the 
writer  had  to  get  his  information  from 
was  those  who  lived  here  and  belonged  to 
the  church  from  its  beginning.  As  you 
know,  this  is  a  very  poor  way  to  record 
facts.  Some  times  traditions  are  correct, 
then  again,  they  are  far  from  it.  It  is  so 
easy  to  get  things  tangled,  and  in  the  tan- 
gle, to  get  them  altogether  wrong;  but 
however  the  case  may  be,  the  Writer  has 
done  his  best  to  get  at  the  facts  in  this 
case,  and  what  he  records  as  fact,  he  has 
found  sufficient  proof  to  convince  him  that 
they  are  facts,  and  nothing  else.  But  would 
it  not  have  been  so  much  better  for  all  of 
us  if  we  could  have  had  the  old  records  so 
that  we  could  have  placed  a  full  account 
of  the  organization  in  this  little  book? 
How  very  important  it  is  that  we  keep  our 
records,  and  yet  how  careless  we  have  been 
with  them. 

Many  of  our  churches  twice  as  old  as  this 
one  have   their  records  complete.     Take  j 
Bethlehem  as  an  example.  They  have  all  of  J 
their  records,  and  they  are  in  good  shape. 


Why  cannot  all  of  our  folks  realize  how 
important  such  things  are?  The  story  of 
the  beginning  of  Baptist  work  in  this  town 
would  have  been  worth  while  to  all  of  the 
community  if  it  could  have  been  preserved 
as  it  took  place  But  there  is  no  use  in 
grieving  over  spilt  milk.  It  is  too  late  now. 
The  writer  has  done  the  best  he  could  with 
what  he  had  to  get  his  information  from. 
Let  us  hope  that  it  will  do  much  good  in 
the  years  to  come,  and  that  as  our  child- 
ren shall  read  these  pages  and  see  how 
hard  it  was  for  the  baptist  work  to  get  a 
foot  hold  in  this  town,  undertake  big- 
ger and  better  things  for  our  Master.  If 
they  do,  these  efforts  will  be  more  than  re- 
warded and  the  writer  will  be  more  than 
gratified.  The  task  is  not  for  personal 
glory,  but  to  honor  the  indefatigible  labors 
of  those  who  prayed,  worked,  and  fainted 
not  until  the  church  became  stabilized. 
May  their  labors  result  in  more  than  they 
ever  dreamed  of,  may  their  memories  be 
pleasant  among  those  who  come  to  worship 
here  for  all  the  ages  to  come  until  the 
Master  shall  gather  all  of  his  sheep  into 
his  fold. 

Sincerely, 

C.  J.  BLACK. 
Kings  Mountain,  N.  C.   1926,  j 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  TOWN    OF    KINGS  MOUNTAIN 

Its  Location,  Early  Settlers,  Chief  Charac- 
teristics, Leading  Industries,  and  Its 


The  location  of  a  town  has  much  to  do 
with  it  in  many  ways,  and  Kings  Mountain 
is  not  out  of  keeping  with  the  general  rule, 
Its  location  has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
its  developments  along  many  lines,  and  es- 
pecially along  religious  lines. 

It  is  located  on  the  main  line  of  the  Sou- 
thern railroad  between  Charlotte  and  At- 
lanta. It  is  thirty  six  miles  from  Charlotte 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  one  from  At- 
lanta. It  is  also  on  the  national  highway 
leading  from  Charlotte  to  Asheville  being 
eighty  seven  miles  from  that  city.  It  is  near 
several  other  important  cities,  and  is  not 
very  far  from  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains. 
It  is  just  nine  miles  from  the  famous  bat- 
tle ground  from  which  it  got  its  name,  and 
is  only  a  few  miles  north  of  the  range  of 
mountains  known  as  Kings  Mountain. 
They  lie  to  the  southeast  and  south  of  the 
town.  The  pinnacle  is  about  three  miles 
south  east  of  the  town,  but  the  battle  was 
not  fought  on  this  knob  as  many  think.  It 


Religious  Life. 


1 


was  fought  on  the  tenth  peak  below  the 
pinnacle,  and  across  the  line  on  the  South 
Carolina  side.  It  now  has  a  population  of 
about  six  thousand  taking  in  the  mill  vil- 
lages in  the  vicinity  of  the  town.  It  is  not 
growing  very  fast,  but  has  added  several 
inhabitants  since  the  last  census  was  taken, 
so  it  may  have  a  little  more  than  six  thou- 
sand at  this  time,  but  it  does  not  have 
many  more  than  this  number. 

Kings  Mountain  has  the  finest  water  in 
the  state,  and  its  climate  is  unexcelled. 
While  we  have  some  cold  weather  here,  yet 
we  do  not  suffer  from  the  extreme  cold 
of  the  regions  higher  up  toward  the  Blue 
Ridge  Mountains.  The  town  is  just  near 
enough  to  the  Blue  Ridge  to  make  the  ho- 
rizon beautiful  in  spring  and  autumn. 

The  town  is  located  on  a  fine  elevation 
which  makes  our  drainage  very  fine.  Our 
town  officers  do  not  have  any  trouble  to 
get  fall  for  their  sewer  lines.  It  slopes 
every  way,  and  there  can  be  no  fears  as  to 
the  growth  of  the  town.  Drainage  can  al- 
ways be  secured  for  any  section  of  it.  Be- 
ing located  on  the  highway  leading  from 
the  north  through  Charlotte,  to  all  points 
south  and  west  makes  our  town  have  a 
large  number  of  tourists  to  visit  us  during 
the  autumn  and  spring  months.  Many  of 
them  stop  over  night  with  us,  and  often 

2 


they  take  time  to  go  out  to  visit  the  old 
battle  ground.  Many  of  them  have  much 
curiosity  to  know  the  real  story  of  this  sec- 
tion of  our  country.  Only  this  year,  we  had 
^gentleman  from  Hollidaysburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania to  visit  us.  He  was  a  great  grand  son 
of  Col*  Isaac  Shelby  who  fought  so  bravely 
in  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain.  We  often 
have  men  of  note  like  the  one  mentioned 
above  to  visit  us  because  of  our  location  on 
these  important  highways, 

Our  town  is  surrounded  by  a  very  good 
farming  section,  and  our  farmers  raise 
niuch  produce  for  our  local  and  other  near 
by  markets.  They  usually  find  ready  sale 
for  all  of  their  produce.  If  they  cannot 
market  it  here,  it  is  easy  to  carry  it  to  oth- 


The  Old  Briggs  Tavern,  the  first  house  built  in 
Kings  Mountain. 

3 


er  towns  like  Gastonia  and  Charlotte 
where  they  can  sell  anything  they  have. 

The  first  house  to  be  built  here  was  the 
Briggs  Store  house,  which  is  still  standing, 
but  is  out  of  use.  The  accompanying  cut 
shows  what  it  is.  This  old  house  was  used 
as  a  store,  tavern,  grog  shop,  and  any- 
thing they  needed  it  for  in  its  day.  It  seems 
to  have  been  kind  of  a  commissary  for  the 
old  iron  works  that  was  once  near  here.  It 
was  here  before  the  lailroad  was  built. 

Mr.  Robert  Falls  owned  the  land  where 
the  principal  part  of  the  town  now  stands. 
He  sold  the  first  two  lots  for  the  beginning 
of  the  town.  These  were  bought  by  Mr.  W. 
A.  Mauney  and  Mr.  A.  V.  Falls.  They  each 
bought  two  acres.  Dr.  J.  G.  Hord's  hand- 
some new  residence  and  the  A.  R.  P.  chur- 
ch now  stand  on  the  lot  bought  by  Mr.  A. 
V.  Falls,  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Mauney  still  owns 
his  and  is  living  on  it. 

Easter  Monday,  1872,  Mr.  W.  A.  Mauney 
and  his  brother,  J.  S.  Mauney,  moved  to 
Kings  Mountain  to  go  into  business.  At 
this  time  Crow  and  Beam  had  a  grog  shop 
where  The  Kings  Mountain  Motor  Com- 
pany is  located,  and  they  were  getting 
ready  to  build  a  new  store  room.  The 
Mauneys  built  a  store  on  the  lot  next  to 
Mr.  W.  A.  Mauney  and  had  goods  in  it  by 
May  of  that  year.     They  ran  their  store 

4 


there  until  1874;  then  they  built  a  new 
store  where  the  City  Hall  is  now  located. 
The  same  year  Carpenter  and  Bros,  built 
a  small  store  where  their  store  is  now  lo- 
cated. Then  another  store  was  built  on  the 
corner  of  the  lot  next  to  Luther  Harmon's 
residence.  This  was  built  by  Baker  McGin- 
nis.  Then  other  stores  began  to  come  in. 
Garrett  Bros,  and  R.  S.  Sugg  came  here 
from  Edgecomb "county,  N.  C,  and  built 
two  store  buildings  where  Mountain  View 
Hotel  now  stands.  A  drug  store  was  run  in 
one  of  these  buildings,  and  a  general  mer- 
chandise in  the  other.  Afterwards  both 
were  converted  into  a  hotel.         ;  *  ; 

Very  soon  after  the  town  started,  Maii-n- 
ey  Bros,  built  a  cheap  hotel  where  W.  M. 
Herd  grocery  store  is  now  located. 
It  was  rolled  back  on  Cherokee  Avenue 
and  converted  into  a  dwelling  and  is 
occupied  by  Mr.  Charlie  Ramsey  who  has 
been  living  in  it  for  quite  a  number  of 
years. 

The  first^real_enterprise  to  be  started 
here  was  a  saw  mill.  This  was  o wined  and 
operated  by  Captain  Freno  Dilling  who 
came  here  early  in  the  year  of  1872.  This 
enterprise  made  the  other  enterprises 
which  came  here  later  in  that  year  possi- 
ble. This  saw  mill  was  located  where  The 
Kings  Mountain  Manufacturing  Company 


is  now  located.  The  first  trains  got  their 
water  from  Captain  Billing's  well.  Captain 
Dilling  lived  at  Cherryville  when  he  began 
his  saw  mill  here,  but  he  later  moved  to 
this  place  and  remained  here  until  his 
death  a  few  years  since.  He  was  one  of  our 
most  honorable  and  useful  men,  and  his 
death  was  quite  a  calamity  to  this  town.  He 
it  was  who  launched  many  of  the  most  use- 
ful and  lucrative  enterprises  in  our  town. 

After  the  above  mentioned  citizens  blaz- 
ed the  way  and  made  it  possible  for  others 
to  move  here,  it  was  not  long  until  many 
began  to  think  about  coming  here  to  live. 
Within  a  few  years,  a  nice  little  town  had 
sprung  up,  and  all  of  the  real  characteris- 
tics of  a  town  were  soon  attained.  Those 
who  came  were  largely  from  the  surround- 
ing country,  making  the  citizenship  the 
best  the  earth  affords.  Being  near  the 
South  Carolina  line  several  from  that  state 
came  over  to  live  with  us,  but  the  most  of 
the  first  settlers  came  either  from  Gaston 
county,  or  Cleveland.  This  one  fact  has  had 
much  to  do  with  the  growth  of  this  town, 
and  it  has  had  more  to  do  with  the  charac- 
ter of  its  citizenship.  Nearly  all  of  the  old- 
er people  here  were  reared  on  farms,  and 
as  you  know,  the  men  and  women  who 
were  taught  to  work  on  farms  in  early 
childhood  always  make  our  very  best  citi- 

6 


zens.  No  greater  misfortune  can  befall  a 
child  than  to  be  left  untrained.  Our  towns 
are  full  of  professional  loafers  now  be- 
cause they  were  not  taught  to  work  in 
childhood.  Those  who  are  raised  on  farms 
may  not  know  as  much  about  society  as 
those  raised  in  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Baltimore,  and  Washington,  but  they  know 
what  honesty  and  old  time  straightfor- 
wardness means.  We  have  as  sturdy  a  cit- 
izenship here  as  you  can  find  in  any  town 
of  like  size. 

Nearly  all  of  the  inhabitants  here  are 
the  offsprings  of  those  who  fought  in  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  and  they  were 
the  stuff  out  of  which  a  government,  the 
finest  the  world  has  ever  seen,  was  built. 

Our  people  are  very  quite  and  unassum- 
ing, but  they  are  reliable.  They  believe  in 
old  fashioned  things,  and  especially  is  this 
true  in  religion.  They  believe  in  the  old 
time  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  they  show 
that  they  do  by  the  way  they  attend 
church  and  worship  when  they  attend. 

This  town  has  some  very  noticeable 
characteristics.  One  of  these  is  the  number 
of  people  we  have  who  are  related.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  folks  here  are  related  by  blood 
in  some  way.  I  do  not  know  of  but  one 
other  town  in  North  Carolina  with  such  an 
extensive   relationship,    and  that  is  Win- 

7 


gate.  There  is  a  vein  of  relationship  run- 
ning through  the  whole  town.  You  cannot 
talk  about  anybody  here  without  talking 
about  somebody's  folks.  This  characteris- 
tic is  good  in  some  respects,  and  in  some 
it  is  not.  I  believe  that  all  will  agree  with 
me  on  this  line. 

The  second  characteristic  I  wish  to  men- 
tion is  the  number  of  married  people  we 
have  here  with  the  husband  in  one  church 
and  the  wife  in  another.  It  is  so  easy  here 
to  find  families  divided  on  denominational 
lines.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  very  much 
friction  in  the  homes  where  such  exists, 
but  it  brings  about  a  very  peculiar  condi- 
tion, and  one  that  does  not  usually  result 
in  much  good.  But  there  is  no  reason  why 
husband  and  wife  can  not  agree  even  if 
they  belong  to  different  denominations.  I 
do  not  believe  that  a  husband,  or  a  wife 
ought  to  give  up  his  or  her  church  just  to 
be  together.  If  they  cannot  go  together 
from  honest  conviction,  then  let  them  stay 
apart.  Let  them  interpret  the  Bible  for 
themselves,  and  then,  let  them  act  accord- 
ingly. If  this  course  is  followed,  we  will 
never  have  any  family  quarrels  over  reli- 
gious matters.  Let  every  one  read  John 
7:17,  and  on  their  knees  settle  the  church 
question,  and  it  is  settled.  Let  raising  stand 
aside,  let  personal  preferences  stand  aside 
.   .  8 


do  nothing  that  the  Old  Book  does  not 
justify,  and  then  the  matter  is  settled  for- 
ever. This  matter  of  proselyting  is  one  of 
the  Worst  sins  the  earth  affords,  and  yet 
many  of  our  folks  in  this  country  are  guilty 
and  do  not  think  that  they  have  committed 
any  crime.  It  is  so  dangerous  to  tamper 
with  any  one's  faith.  I  am  not  going  to  do 
it.,  but  if  any  one  wants  to  know  what  I 
believe,  I  am  always  ready  to  tell  them  in  a 
Christ-like  way. 

Another  peculiar  characteristic  of  our 
town  is  the  location  of  our  churches.  I  am 
sure  that  you  have  noticed  how  peculiarly 
they  are  located.  Before  I  moved  here  and 
became  pastor  of  one  of  these  churches,  I 
thought  that  I  had  never  seen  anything  so 
funny,  but  now  I  have  become  accustomed 
to  their  arrangement  and  do  not  notice  it 
so  much.  This  characteristic  is  very  in- 
convenient in  many  ways.  The  churches 
are  so  close  together  that  you  can  hear  all 
of  the  pastors  preaching  at  the  same  time, 
and  the  story  that  the  Baptist  were  sing- 
ing, "Will  there  be  any.  stars  in  your 
■crown?"  on  their  corner  and  the  Methodist 
on  the  other  corner  were  singing,  "No  not 
one,  No  not  one,"  can  be  true  and  it  may 
have  been  true,  for  they  are  close  enough 
to  be  heard.  But  the  greatest  objection  I 
have  to  this  arrangement  of  our  churches 

9 


is  that  it  is  very  much  in  the  way  of  the 
parking  of  our  cars  when  we  use  them  to 
carry  our  folks  to  church.  But  it  is  too  late 
to  remedy  this  mistake.  The  deeds  have 
been  made,  and  none  of  our  churches  want 
to  move  to  other  quarters,  though  it  would 
be  a  blessing  for  them  to  get  farther  apart. 

Another  very  noticeable  characteristic 
of  our  town  is  the  number  of  fine  young 
people  we  have.  What  a  wonderful  oppor- 
tunity we  have!  Our  streets  are  full  of 
them  every  day.  I  do  not  know  just  how 
many  we  have  between  twelve  and  twenty, 
but  we  have  more  of  them  than  I  have  ever 
seen  in  any  other  town  of  like  size.  They 
are  all  hearty  and  fine  looking,  and  they 
are  intelligent.  The  most  of  them  are  in 
school,  but  occasionally  you  will  find  one 
without  ambition,  or  rather,  parents  with- 
out ambition  enough  to  send  them  to  school 
but  we  do  not  have  very  many  of  this  kind, 
I  am  glad  to  say.  If  we  will  train  them  as 
they  should  be,  we  can  move  the  world 
with  them.  God  has  placed  them  here  for 
us  to  show  what  we  are,  and  what  we  do 
with  them  will  tell  in  the  future  what  our 
real  aim  in  life  has  been.  They  are  the  fu- 
ture town  and  church. 

One  of  the  greatest  characteristics  of 
our  town  is  the  fine  fabrics  it  manufact- 
ures. This  is  such  an  outstanding  charac- 

10 


teristic  I  cannot  hesitate  mentioning  it  at 
this  point.  We  manufacure  some  of  the  fin- 
est draperies  to  be  found  in  the  whole 
south.  Our  draperies,  bed  spreads,  table 
napkins,  upholsterings,  and  fine  dress 
goods  are  shipped  to  nearly  all  the  coun- 
tries in  the  world.  Our  bed  spreads  are 
sold  in  Turkey,  India,  and  other  Asiatic 
countries,  while  the  other  goods  we  man- 
ufacture are  sold  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States.  Our  window  shades  and  curtains 
are  hanging  in  the  leading  homes  of  our 
land,  and  our  fine  upholstering  is  to  be 
found  in  the  most  up-to-date  parlors  of  our 
cities.  These  things  have  made  Kings 
Mountain  famous  in  the  business  and  so- 
cial world.  We  are  proud  of  our  silks  and 
linen  goods. 

We  have  as  fine  a  town  as  can  be  found, 
its  citizens  are  the  very  best,  its  climate  is 
unexcelled,  the  sturdy  thrift  and  real  in- 
dustry of  our  folks  is  very  noticeable,  and 
their  love  for  God  is  supreme. 

The  next  important  thing  we  wish  to 
consider  concerning  our  town  is  its  leading 
industries.  No  town  of  like  proportions 
can  boast  of  more  real  up  to  date  indus- 
trial enterprises  than  Kings  Mountain,  but 
we  do  not  have  variety  enough  to  give  em- 
ployment to  all  of  our  people.  Many  of 
them   have  to   go  to  other  towns  to  get 

11 


work.  Many  of  our  young  people  who  at* 
tend  schools,  and  even  those  who  attend 
our  high  school  here,  cannot  get  work  here 
during  the  summer  months,  or  during  va- 
cation time.  The  principal  industry  here, 
as  it  is  with  nearly  all  of  the  towns  in  Cle- 
veland and  Gaston  counties,  is  the  cotton 
mill  business.  The  cotton  mill  business 
furnishes  work  for  a  great  many  people, 
but  we  have  so  many  folks  who  cannot 
work  in  mills,  and  who  do  not  know  enough 
about  the  mill  business  to  make  a  living, 
that,  to  have  just  one  leading  industry 
works  a  hardship  on  them,  and  then  too,  it 
is  against  a  town  to  be  lop  sided  like  this. 

We  have  eleven  cotton  mills  in  Kings 
Mountain.  They  are  not  very  large  but  they 
turn  out  some  very  fine  work.  These  mills 
are  largely  owned  and  controlled  by  the 
titizens  of  our  town,  and  because  of  this 
their  help  is  stabilized.  This  adds  so  much 
to  church  work.  You  do  not  have  the  tran- 
sient help  to  contend  with  here  that  you 
have  in  so  many  of  our  mill  towns.  That 
migratory  element  we  have  in  North  Caro- 
lina makes  it  very  difficult  to  do  anything 
with  them  along  religious  lines,  and  many 
of  those  who  move  every  few  weeks  are 
very  dishonest.  Kings  Mountain  mills  have 
people  working  in  them  who  have  been  in 
them  since  their  beginning. 

12 


Our  eleven  mills  have  an  aggregate  of 
79,044  spindles,  1,072  looms,  and  422  houses 
in  their  villages. 

The  first  mill  to  be  organized  and  built 
here  was  the  Kings  Mountain  Manufactu- 
ring Company,  known  as  the  Old  Mill.  It 
was  projected  in  1888  by  Captain  Freno 
^IDilting  and  Mauney  Bros.  (Andrew  Maun- 
ey  and  his  brother,  Mr.  Jacob  Mauney).  It 
was  built  on  the  spot  where  Captain  bill- 
ing had  been  running  a  saw!  mill,  the  first 
real  business  enterprise  the  town  ever  had* 
The  mill  is  just  a  little  way  from  the  South- 
ern depot.  It  has  a  nice  village  of  thirty 
five  houses  with  as  fine  set  of  help  as  can 
be  found  in  our  country.  Many  of  them 
are  among  the  best  church  workers  we 
have  in  our  churches.  Their  superinten- 
dent, Mr.  J.  P.  Long,  has  been  with  them 
for  years.  He  has  been  living  here  for  more 
than  thirty  years. 

This  mill  has  six  thousand  five  hundred 
spindles,  and  manufactures  fine  yarn  only. 
It  is  a  fine  mill,  and  seems  to  be  in  a  thriv- 
ing condition. 

The  second  mill  to  be  built  in  Kings 
Mountain  was  The  Enterprise,  now  called 
The  Mason.  This  mill  is  located  just  south 
of  the  main  section  of  town.  Its  village  is 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Southern  railway 
track.  It  was  built  by  Messrs  Erskine  Falls, 

13 


W.  0.  Ware,  and  a  few  more  men.  This  is 
a  very  fine  mill  with  ten  thousand  and 
eighty  spindles.  It  manufactures  a  very 
fine  grade  of  combed  yarn,  which  seems  to 
always  have  a  ready  market.  The  village  of 
this  mill  has  thirty  eight  houses.  It  is  con- 
trolled by  Messrs  0.  B.  Carpenter  and  J.  C. 
Mason.  This  mill  was  built  in  1892. 

The  third  mill  to  be  built  in  Kings  Moun- 
tain was  the  Dilling.  It  was  built  in  1893 
and  1894.  The  prime  mover  of  this  enter- 
prise was  Captain  Freno  Dilling.  His  son, 
Walter  Dilling,  is  still  one  of  the  leading 
officials  of  this  mill.  Mr.  A.  G.  Myers  is  the 
president  of  it. 

This  mill  is  located  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  town.  It  is  one  of  the  very  best  mills 
we  have.  It  has  twenty-one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty  four  spindles  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  looms.  They  weave  some 
very  fine  cloth,  such  as  broad  cloth,  fine 
silk  dress  goods,  and  brazier  cloth.  They 
have  the  Darby  loom  which  requires  much 
skill  to  operate  it. 

This  mill  has  a  large  village  with  ninety 
five  houses  in  it,  and  many  of  those  who 
work  in  this  mill  own  their  own  homes, 
They  also  have  a  very  fine  set  of  help,  the 
most  of  which  attends  some  one  of  our 
churches.  The  weaving  department  of  this 
mill  was  built  in  1925.  Other  additions  had 

14 


been  made  to  the  spinning  department  pri- 
or to  this  time. 

The  next  mill  building  fever  broke  out 
here  in  1900.  Two  large  mills  were  built 
this  year.  These  were  The  Cora  and  The 
Lula,  now  known  as  The  Phoenix.  The 
Cora  mill  was  projected  by  Dr.  0.  G.  Falls, 
who  still  has  control  of  it.  He  is  a  very 
active  man  who  has  much  interest  in  his 
help  and  his  community.  He  is  one  of  the 
most  congenial  men  in  our  section.  He 
tries  to  be  a  friend  to  every  one.  This  mill, 
as  many  of  the  others,  has  some  very  fine 
help.  The  treasurer  of  our  church,  J.  R. 
Roberts,  is  superintendent  of  this  mill,  and 
is  one  of  our  most  faithful  members.  A.  C, 
Penland,  another  faithful  member  of  our 
church,  is  an  overseer  in  it.  The  store  and 
office  have  some  very  fine  men  in  them. 
The  store  is  in  the  hands  of  Robert  Chaney 
and  Hugh  Williams,  two  of  the  leading 
members  of  Second  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Chas.  F.  Stowe  and  Fuller  McGill  are  the 
book  keepers.  They  are  not  Baptists,  but 
they  are  friends  of  mine,  and  Mr.  Stowe's 
family  is  Baptist. 

This  mill  has  twenty  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred spindles  and  ninety  two  houses  in  its 
village.  This  village  was  in  a  separate  in- 
corporation until  a  few  years  since.  The 
town  had  an  election  ajid  voted  to  go  into 

15 


the  old  incorporation  of  Kings  Mountain, 
and  so  the  town  of  East  Kings  Mountain 
passed  out  except  the  school.  It  is  still  in- 
dependent of  the  town  school.  This  may  be 
best,  or  it  may  not  be.  I  am  not  able  to  say 
about  this. 

The  next  mill  to  be  built  in  1900  was  The 
Lula,  now  The  Phoenix.  The  name  changed 
with  the  change  in  ownership.  All  mills 
seem  to  follow  this  rule.  This  mill  is  loca- 
ted on  the  main  line  of  the  Southern  rail- 
road about  one  mile  east  of  the  main  part 
of  town.  This  mill  Tias  a  very  fine  village 
with  seventy  five  houses. 

This  mill  was  projected  by  Mr.  P.  S.  Ba- 
ker, but  is  now  owned  by  out  of  town  cap- 
ital. The  leading  stockholders  are  in  Char- 
lotte. 

This  is  a  very  good  mill  with  sixteen 
hundred  spindles  and  four  hundred  looms. 
This  equipment  enables  them  to  give  em- 
ployment to  a  great  number  of  hands.  It 
manufactures  fine  yarns  and  white  goods. 
,  The  Bonnie  was  the  next  mill  to  be  built 
in  our  town.  It  was  projected  by  Dr.  Hord 
and  Mauney  Bros.  It  too,  was  built  in  1900. 
This  was  the  greatest  business  year  along 
industrial  lines  our  town  has  ever  seen. 
This  mill  with  The  Lula  and  The  Cora  all 
being  built  in  one  year  gave  the  town  a 
great  boost.  This  mill  runs  with  indepen- 

16 


dent  power,  thus  it  is  enabled  to  furnish 
employment  for  its  help  much  better  than 
the  other  mills  we  have  here.  Last  summer, 
when  all  of  the  other  mills  were  curtailing 
so  much  The  Bonnie  was  running  full  time. 

This  mill  is  located  on  Gold  Street  near 
the  center  of  the  town.  It  is  just  a  short 
distance  to  the  left  of  the  road  as  you  go 
toward  Grover.  It  is  just  one  block  behind 
the  First  Baptist  Church,  making  it  very 
easy  for  the  help  to  go  to  church  if  they 
prefer  to  go  to  the  Baptist  church.  This 
mill  has  eight  thousand  three  hundred  and 
twenty  spindles,  and  a  village  of  forty  two 
houses.  One  of  the  treasurers  of  our  church 
W.  T.  Parker,  is  the  book  keeper  for  this 
mill.  This  mill  does  not  manufacture  any- 
thing but  yarn. 

The  Pauline  mill  was  built  in  1910.  It 
was  first  a  weave  mill,  but  later  Mr.  C.  E. 
Neisler  who  began  the  enterprise  enlarg- 
ed the  plant,  putting  in  more  looms  and 
spinning,  until  today,  it  has  five  thousand 
spindles  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  six 
looms.  It  turns  out  some  of  the  finest  bed- 
spreads, table  napkins,  table  cloths,  up- 
holstering, and  draperies  to  be  found  in  the 
south.  They  manufacture  fine  cotton  goods 
but  makeji  specialty  of  silk  goods.  They 
have  a  very  fine  set  of  help,  many  of  them 
being  leading  church  workers  in  different 

17 


churches.  Their  superintendent,  W.  K, 
White  is  one  of  the  deacons  of  The  First 
Baptist  church,  and  their  machinist,  W.  F. 
Styers,  is  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
Sunday  School  workers  we  have.  Many 
more  might  be  mentioned,  but  I  cannot 
mention  everything  or  everybody  who 
holds  an  important  position  in  our  indus- 
trial enterprises. 

This  mill  does  not  have  but  twenty  two 
houses,  but  many  of  the  hands  own  their 
own  homes,  which  makes  the  number  of 
hands  greater  than  you  would  suppose. 

The  Margrace  and  the  Patricia  are  also 
owned  and  controlled  by  Mr.  C.  E.  Neisler. 
These  mills  are  located  just  south  of  town. 
The  two  village  are  so  close  together  that 
they  are  usually  called  The  Margrace,  but 
they  are  entirely  separate  when  it  comes  to 
the  work  of  the  two.  The  Margrace  weaves 
and  spins,  while  The  Patricia  weaves  only* 
They  manufacture  goods  similar  to  that  of 
the  Pauline.  There  is  not  much  difference 
in  the  out  put  of  the  two  mills. 

The  Margrace  has  five  thousand  spind- 
les and  ninety  six  looms  with  twenty  two 
houses  in  its  village.  The  Patricia  has  two 
hundred  and  seventy  looms  and  a  fine 
village  around  it.  These  two  mills  have 
some  of  the  best  people  in  our  town  work- 
ing in  them.     Many  of  them  are  faithful 

18 


church  folks. 

The  Park  Yarn  mill  was  built  some  where 
in  the  nineties.  It  was  projected  by  Junius 
Rhodes.  This  village  is  known  as  Johns-'" 
town.  This  mill  manufactures  coarse  yarns 
for  carpets  and  other  coarse  fabrics.  One 
of  pur  most  loyal  members,  J.  C.  Keller,  is 
superintendent  of  this  mill.  It  has  a  fine 
village  with  forty  five  houses  in  it  and  four 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety  six 
spindles.  This  mill  was  badly  damaged  by  a 
s:orm  during  the  summer  of  1925,  but  it 
has  been  rebuilt  and  is  now  running  full 
time.  It  has  a  fine  set  of  help  who  are  in- 
terested in  church  work.  It  is  being  talked 
that  this  mill  is  going  to  be  enlarged  con- 
siderably. If  this  be  true,  it  will  add  much 
to  that  part  of  the  town. 

The  last  mill  to  be  built  in  our  town  was 
The  Sadie.  It  is  located  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  town  in  plain  view  of  the  Pin- 
nacle. It  was  built  by  D.  C.  Mauney  and 
Bros.,  and  L.  A.  Kiser.  This  mill  has  fifty 
five  hundred  spindles  and  a  village  with 
twenty  five  houses  in  it.  This  mill  does  not 
manufacture  anything  but  yarns. 

All  of  Viese  mills  have  stores,  unless  it 
is  The  Sadie.  The  most  of  them  have  real 
nice  stores  so  that  their  help  may  be  able 
to  get  supplies  without  the  cash.  These 
mills  are  not  like  most  mills.  They  are  more 

19 


like  distinct  communities  within  our  town. 

They  all  have  their  business  methods, 
and  they  stick  to  them.  They  are  all  good 
to  their  help  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
learn.  They  are  far  above  the  average  mill 
towns,  and  have  a  much  better  citizenship 
than  most  mills  have.  We  are  proud  of 
them.  Without  them  our  town  would  be 
dead.  It  has  to  depend  on  them  for  its  life. 
This  is  why  it  becomes  so  lifeless  when 
they  are  out  of  commission. 

As  church  folks  we  are  making  one  fatal 
mistake.  We  are  not  working  these  com- 
munities as  they  should  be  worked.  We 
have  hundreds  of  folks  in  them  who  never 
go  to  church,  and  who  know  nothing  about 
our  church  work.  This  is  a  matter  we  must 
give  our  most  careful  consideration.  If  we 
do  not,  it  is  going  to  give  us  much  trouble 
in  the  future.  What  is  the  use  to  preach 
missions  in  China  and  neglect  the  salvation 
of  our  own  town  people?  We  are  not  sin- 
cere if  we  do  such  a  thing,  and  are  we  not 
doing  just  such  a  thin^  every  day  that  the 
Lord  gives  us?  Let  us  not  neglect  this  any 
longer. 

We  must  now  pass  from  the  cotton  mill 
industry  to  the  other  industries  of  our 
town.  We  have  several  of  them,  and  yet  not 
half  as  many  as  we  ought  to  have. 

We  have  a  good  Cotton  Seed  Oil  mill.  It 
20 


was  projected  by  Dr.  Hord  and  Mauney 
Bros.,  possibly  a  few  others.  To  this  plant 
a  nice  ice  plant  has  been  added.  A  fine  cot- 
ton gin  has  also  been  built  in  connection 
with  the  oil  mill  and  the  ice  plant.  All  of 
these  enterprises  are  controlled  by  Mr.  G. 
D.  Hambright.  These  establishments  mean 
much  for  our  town.  They  furnish  work  for 
several  people,  but  they  do  more  by  bring- 
ing trade  to  our  town.  The  country  round 
about  patronizes  the  oil  mill  and  the  cotton 
gin.  The  Victory  Gin  Company  does  a  nice 
business,  and  sells  coal  as  a  side  line. 

We  have  a  fine  community  potato  house 
here  which  cares  for  several  hundred  bush- 
els of  sweet  potatoes  every  winter. 

In  1900  Charles  Peterson  and  his  son 
moved  to  Kings  Mountain  from  Tirzah,  S. 
C,  and  set  up  a  wood  working  plant  in  the 
rear  of  the  Old  Herald  office.  They  contin- 
ued this  until  1907,  when  they  organized 
another  company  and  built  a  larger  plant 
which  they  ran  for  some  time,  but  finally 
sold  it,  and  it  went  out  of  business.  Later 
Jonah  Thomasson  organized  The  Elmer 
Lumber  Company  which  is  still  running 
and  is  dcing  the  town  a  great  deal  of  ser- 
vice as  it  manufactures  all  kinds  of  ma- 
terials for  building  houses.  It  is  one  of  the 
best  assets  we  have. 

James  W.  Cornwell  and  Sons  had  a  bug- 
21 


gy  factory  here  for  some  time,  but  it  has 
long  since  been  out  of  business.  The  auto- 
mobile business  has  just  about  stopped  the 
buggy  business.  The  numerous  garages  we 
now  have  taken  the  place  of  the  buggy  fac- 
tory. 

Ben  Huff  and  Mauney  Bros,  had  a  wagon 
factory  here  for  awhile,  but  it  too,  like  the 
buggy  factory,  soon  passed  over  and  is  no 
more. 

The  Neislers  and  J.  M.  Rhea  ran  a  shirt 
factory  in  the  old  opera  house  for  some- 
time, but  they  have  gone  into  a  much  lar- 
ger business  now  know  as  J.  M.  Rhea  and 
Company,  Jobbers.  They  are  manufactur- 
ing window  shades,  window  draperies,  bed- 
spreads, and  upholsterings.  They  are  turn- 
ing out  some  of  the  best  work  to  be  found 
in  the  south.  They  v^ork  several  hands  in 
their  plant  on  Railroad  Avenue,  but  the 
majority  of  their  force  is  on  the  road. 
They  sell  their  goods  by  agents.  They  have 
salesmen  in  many  states  and  are  doing  an 
extensive  mail  order  business.  If  their  bus- 
iness keeps  growing  for  the  next  five  years 
as  it  has  for  the  past  year,  they  will  soon 
have  to  have  many  more  helpers  in  their 
plant,  and  the  post  office  will  have  to  have 
several  more  assistants.  This  is  strictly  a 
first  class  company,  and  is  quite  an  asset 
to  our  town.    We  are  proud  of  this  com- 

22  ' 


pany. 

We  also  have  a  good  printing  plant  here 
which  does  much  job  work,  besides  run- 
ning a  weekly  newspaper,  The  Kings 
Mountain  Herald,  This  plant  is  owned  and 
controlled  by  G.  G.  Page,  who  is  the  Gener- 
al Superintendent  of  our  Sunday  School. 
Recently  he  added  a  nice  book  store  to  his 
printing  plant.  This  has  added  a  great  deal 
to  our  town.  The  book  business  has  been 
steadily  growing  for  the  past  year,  and  we 
predict  that  before  two  years  more  it  is 
going  to  be  many  times  larger  than  it  is. 
The  printing  plant  is  also  growing  very 
fast.  We  hope  to  see  this  town  become  large 
enough  to  have  a  daily  newspaper  within 
ten  years. 

The  newspaper  business  here  was  begun 
by  Mr.  W.  A.  Mauney  who  had  it  printed 
by  the  Union  News  Printing  Co.,  in  Char- 
lotte/but later  bought  a  press  and  had  the 
type  set  here.  His  daughter,  Miss  Laura 
Mauney,  who  new  is  Mrs.  W.  A.  Ridenhour, 
was  the  first  person  to  set  any  type  in 
this  town.  Mr.  Mauney  sold  the  paper  to  a 
Mr.  Tipton,  and  since  then  it  has  changed 
hands  until  it  has  become  the  property  of 
Mr.  G.  G.  Page. 

We  have  a  radius  rod  shop  here  owned 
and  controlled  by  Dr.  Hord.  I  do  not  know 
.how  many  they  manufacture  each  day,  but 

23 


it  must  be  a  considerable  number.  They 
weld  them  by  electricity,  and  can  make 
them  very  fast.  They  are  shipped  to  all 
parts  of  our  country.  This  plant  gives  em- 
ployment to  several. 

We  have  a  small  laundry  here  which  has 
not  been  doing  finishing  work  until  recent- 
ly. The  laundries  at  Shelby  and  Gastonia 
have  been  doing  nearly  all  of  our  finished 
work  until  this  year.  We  trust  that  our 
laundry  may  become  large  enough  to  take 
care  of  the  work  of  the  town  so  that  out 
of  town  men  will  have  to  stay  away.  As 
long  as  so  much  of  our  money  goes  out  of 
our  town  every  week,  we  are  not  going  to 
have  the  business  life  that  we  ought  to 
have. 

We  have  four  very  fine  physicians.  We 
are  proud  of  them.  I  am  not  going  to  say 
which  is  the  most  popular,  or  which  one  is 
the  best.  They  are  all  good  and  we  are 
proud  of  them.  Dr.  J.  G.  Hord  is  the  oldest 
of  them,  then  comes  Dr.  J.  E.  Anthony  and 
Dr.  P.  B.  Stokes  and  Dr.  S.  A.  Lowry. 

We  have  two  drug  stores,  the  Griffin 
Drug  Co.,  and  the  Finger's  Drug  Store, 
two  hardware  stores,  many  grocery  stores, 
three  millinery  stores,  three  nice  cafes  in 
the  center  of  the  town,  numerous  filling 
stations,  several  good  barber  shops,  two 
first  class  banks,  a  good  furniture  store, 

24 


two  telegraph  offices,  one  wholesale  groc- 
ery store,  one  five  and  ten  cent  store,  and 
numerous  enterprises  that  our  people  are 
running  to  make  a  living. 

We  have  a  very  fine  roller  mill  operated 
by  W.  A.  Ware.  It  makes'  a  great  many 
barrels  of  the  very  best  high  grade  flour 
every  day. 

Our  schools  must  not  be  forgotten  in 
this  write  up  of  our  town.  The  first  one  to 
be  established  here  was  begun  soon  after 
the  town  was  started.  It  was  run  by  Cap- 
tain W.  T.  R.  Bell.  It  was  a  military  acad- 
emy, and  was  a  very  good  school.  It  was 
patronized  by  many  people  who  lived  in 
other  states,  and  had  quite  a  reputation, 
but  Captain  Bell's  morals  were  seriously 
questioned  and  he  had  to  move  his  school 
to  Shelby  where  he  run  it  for  some  time, 
but  it  finally  went  under. 

Captain  Bell's  school  building  was  where 
the  new  high  school  building  stands,  and 
we  are  proud  to  say  that  it  is  a  standard 
high  school.  Prof.  J.  Y.  Irvin  is  the  princi- 
pal. He  has  done  a  most  excellent  work 
here. 

We  have  three  graded  schools  besides 
the  high  school.  We  have  the  lower  grades 
taught  in  the  high  school  building  for  the 
convenience  of  the  uptown  folks. 

We  have  more  churches  in  our  town  than 


The  old  School  BuildiMg  Oapt.  Hell  taught  in,  and  the 
one  the  most  of  the  older  citizens  of  Kings  Mountain 
went  to  school  in. 


26 


any  oilier  town  in  the  state  the  size  of 
ours. 

The  first  church  to  be  organized  here 
was  the  Lutheran.  It  celebrated  its  fiftieth 
anniversary  last  year  (1925).  It  now  has  a 
membership  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
and  four  hundred  and  twenty  seven  en- 
rolled in  Sunday  School.  It  has  a  good 
house  of  worship  and  a  good  manse.  It  is 
the  only  church  in  town  that  has  a  pipe  or- 
gan. It  was  the  first  church  here,  and  of 
course  this  gives  it  the  advantage  of  the 
ether  churches,  but  all  are  growing  very 
fast  now.  It  is  located  on  Piedmont  Av- 
enue, 

The  A.  R.  P.  church  is  located  just  one 
block  south  of  the  Lutheran  church.  It  has 
a  membership  of  two  hundred,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  one  enrolled  in  Sunday 
School.  This  church  has  recently  built  a 
nice  Sunday  School  annex.  They  have  a 
gcod  house  of  worship  and  a  very  good 
parsonage.  Their  pastor,  Dr.  J.  M.  Garri- 
son, has  been  here  for  a  number  of  years* 
All  love  him  and  honor  him. 

The  Presbyterian  church  is  just  one 
block  further  south  than  the  A.  R.  P.  chur- 
ch. They  have  the  smallest  house  of  wor- 
ship of  any  of  the  up  town  churches  but  it 
is  comfortable  and  very  neat.  They  have 
two  hundred  members  and  a  Sunday  School 

27 


enrollment  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  six. 
Dr.  I.  S.  McElroy  is  their  pastor. 

The  M.  E.  South  is  located  just  opposite 
the  Presbyterian  church  on  Piedmont 
Avenue.  They  have  a  very  good  house  and 
a  most  excellent  parsonage.  It  was  built 
last  year,  and  adds  so  much  to  their  plant. 
They  have  three  hundred  and  fifty  mem- 
bers and  have  an  enrollment  in  Sunday 
School  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  one.  Rev. 
0.  P.  Ader  is  their  pastor. 

Grace  Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  lo- 
cated near  the  Phoenix  mill.  It  has  a  mem- 
bership of  three  hundred  and  eight  with 
three  hundred  and  sixty  seven  enrolled  in 
Sunday  School.  They  have  a  wooden  house, 
but  it  is  very  neat  and  comfortable.  They 
also  have  a  good  parsonage.  Rev.  W.  H. 
Pless  is  their  pastor. 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  have  a  nice 
brick  house  near  the  Old  Mill.  They  have 
fifty  five  members  with  one  hundred  and 
thirty  two  enrolled  in  Sunday  School. 

We  have  three  Baptist  churches  here. 
The  first  church,  the  second,  which  is  near 
the  Cora  Mill,  and  the  third,  or  Macedonia. 

We  also  have  a  little  Hardshell  Baptist 
church  out  in  the  Western  section  of  our 
town,  but  it  is  very  weak,  and  in  fact  the 
most  of  our  folks  do  not  know  that  we 
have  such  a  thing  in  our  town.  It  is  nearly 

28 


dead,  as  the  most  of  that  persuasion  are. 

Now,  if  you  will  add  up  the  membership 
of  all  of  these  churches  I  have  mentioned, 
you  will  see  that  we  have  a  total  member- 
ship of  two  thousand  and  ninety  with  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy  three 
enrolled  in  Sunday  School.  We  have  about 
sixty  five  hundred  people  in  our  town. 
Please  compare  the  church  roll  with  our 
population  and  see  where  We  stand.  Is  it 
not  terrible  to  think  that  we  are  doing  so 
little  to  evangelize  our  own  people?  Surely 
these  figures  I  have  taken  from  The  Her- 
ald, February  18th,  1926  issue,  will  arouse 
our  folks  as  they  have  never  been  aroused 
and  put  them  to  work  in  dead  earnest  one 
time.  Just  think  of  it,  thirty  three  and  one 
half  per  cent  of  our  people  on  the  Lord's 
side.  Are  we  what  we  profess  to  be  ?  Sure- 
ly we  are  not.  We  have  as  intelligent  peo- 
ple as  you  can  find  anywhere  in  this  sec- 
tion, but  from  these  figures  it  is  very  evi- 
dent that  we  are  not  very  religious.  Do 
you  think  so? 

Our  town  is  wonderfully  located,  and  en- 
joys many  opportunities  that  other  towns 
in  this  section  of  our  state  do  not  have. 

We  are  surrounded  by  a  fine  farming 
section,  and  we  have  natural  resources. 
We  have  mica,  sulphur,  lime,  gold,  tin  and 
large  deposits  of  lead.  If  all  of  these  miner- 

29 


cds  were  mined  here,  we  could  manuf  acture 
almost  anything.  I  am  sure  that  we  have 
quite  a  bit  of  aluminum  here  as  it  is  in  al- 
most all  clay  soil.  It  has  not  been  mined 
here  but  I  feel  sure  that  it  could  be.  We 
must  wake  up,  or  seme  of  these  days  we 
are  going  to  find  ourselves  left  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  stream  and  others  will  have  the 
spoils  we  are  entitled  to. 

What  we  make  out  of  Kings  Mountain 
will  be  determined  by  what  we  do  with  our 
children. 


■  ,   -                     .  ..... 

■  * 

KINGS  MOUNTAIN  PINNACLE 

7  miles  northeast  of  Battleground.  8 
miles  southeast  of  town  of  Kings  Moun- 
tain. Highest  point  east  of  Blue  Ridge. 


30 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  BATTLE  THAT  MADE  THIS 
TOWN  FAMOUS 

When  Fought— The  Leading-  Officers  on 
Both  Sides— Relatives  of  The  Heroes  Who 
Are  Members  of  our  Church — The  Relation 
of  This  Battle  To  American  Civilization— 
This  Battle  A  Challenge  to  Every  Citizen 
In  Our  Town. 


The  battle  of  Kings  Mountain' was  one  of 
the  greatest  in  all  the  history  of  the  civili- 
zed world.  It  did  not  have  so  many  men  en  - 
gaged in  it,  nor  did  it  last  as  long  as  some 
of  those  fought  prior  to  it,  but  the  ques- 
tion over  which  they  fought,  the  bravery 
with  which  they  fought,  and  the  victory 
they  won  was  as  great  as  any  the  world 
has  ever  known,  and  yet  it  is  very  strange 
indeed  to  see  how  carelessly  all  of  our 
general  historians  have  passed  over  this 
great  event;  some  giving  it  a  passing 
notice,  and  others  not  mentioning  it  at  all. 
There  may  be  reasons  why  this  has  been 
done,  but  to  me,  it  seems  unbelieveable  and 
unthinkable  to  the  greatest  degree.  It  is 
admitted  by  all  who  know  anything  about 
the  Revolutionary  war  that  this  was  the 

31 


hinging  battle,  then  it  was  the  decisive 
battle,  and  are  not  decisive  battle  those  we 
ought  to  give  most  attention  to?  Those 
who  fought  so  bravely  in  that  battle  with- 
out money  and  without  price  solely  for 
their  love  of  country  deserve  to  be  men- 
tioned in  a  more  important  way  than  they 
have  ever  been  in  any  of  the  general  his- 
tories of  our  country,  except  Lyman  C. 
Draper,  who  wrote  a  fine  history  of  The 
Battle  of  Kings  Mountain  and  Its  Heroes 
in  1880.  This  book  has  long  since  gone  out 
of  print,  but  must  have  a  reprint  to  be 
read  by  our  young  people,  or  many  of  those 
important  events  are  going  to  be  forgot- 
ten. Joseph  Wheeler  wrote  a  history  of 
North  Carolina  many  years  ago  in  which 
he  gives  a  fine  account  of  the  battle.  This 
book  has  been  republished  and  can  be  had 
without  very  much  trouble.  It  ought  to  be 
read  by  every  citizen  of  North  Carolina. 
Major  Foote  wrote  a  history  of  North  Car- 
olina from  the  Presbyterian  point  of  view. 
It  has  a  great  deal  to  say  about  this  im- 
portant battle,  but  it  is  not  as  good  as  the 
first  two  mentioned  above. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  this  little  book 
to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  battle  and 
its  heroes,  but  to  give  some  facts  relating 
to  it,  and  to  discuss  it  only  as  it  is  related 
to  the  religious  life  of  this  section  of  coun- 

32 


try.  The  religious  life  of  this  town,  and  we 
might  say,  this  country,  owes  much  to 
those  who  fought  in  that  battle.  I  might 
write  volumes  on  this  important  subject, 
and  still  there  would  be  much  to  be  said. 
It  is  a  subject  you  cannot  exhaust.  As 
Paul  says,  "It  is  much  every  way."  I  might 
speak  of  the  things  leading  up  to  it,  and 
then  I  could  write  hundreds  of  pages  con- 
cerning the  things  leading  out  from  it,  but 
I  shall  not  endeavor  to  mention  anything 
except  those  things  which  relate  to  the 
things  I  have  in  mind  to  write  concerning 
the  history  of  the  First  Baptist  church  at 
Kings  Mountain.  Many  of  the  things  I  am 
going  to  mention  have  never  been  mention- 
ed by  any  of  the  historians,  and  if  they  are 
not  recorded  now,  they  are  going  to  pass 
out  of  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  thus, 
will  be  forgotten.  This  is  especially  true^, 
concerning  the  line  of  ancestry.  I  have 
found  many  things  along  this  line  which 
would  have  been  forgotten  entirely  if  I  had 
not  gathered  them  from  our  oldest  citi- 
zens. 

The  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  was 
fought  Saturday  afternoon  October  7th., 
1780,  just  a  few  days  more  than  four 
month  after  the  slaughter  of  Col.  Bu- 
ford's  men  near  Waxhaw  in  upper  South 
Carolina.   Col.  Tarleton   met  Col.  Buford 

33 


near  Waxhaw  and  murdered  eighty  of  his 
noble  men  without  mercy  although  they 
surrendered  tc  him.  To  understand  some  of 
the  things  our  men  did  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain, you  must  know  about  the  butchery  of 
Col.  Buford's  men.  Our  men  went  into  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain  with  this  slaugh- 
ter in  mind,  and  they  were  determined  to 
get  revenge,  and  they  did  to  their  heart's 
desire. 

Ferguson  had  pitched  camp  on  this 
mountain  the  day  before.  It  is  not  really  a 
mountain,  but  just  a  high  hill  about  sixty- 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  He 
had  so  much  confidence  in  his  wisdom  in 
selecting  this  hill  that  he  said  the  Almigh- 
ty could  not  run  him  off  of  it,  and  he  did 
not,  but  he  sleeps  there  today,  and  will  un- 
til the  last  trump  shall  sound. 

Ferguson  seemed  to  be  a  little  uneasy 
about  his  situation,  but  was  not  enough 
alarmed  as  to  be  on  the  look  out  for  our 
men.  Although  he  had  his  picket  line  plac- 
ed. His  men  had  not  gotten  things  well  ar- 
ranged when  they  had  to  go  into  battle.  It 
seemed  to  be  a  great  surprise  to  them  as 
they  were  bathing  and  shaving,  getting 
ready  for  the  Sabbath,  if  they  cared  any- 
thing for  such  a  day.  Their  picket  line  was 
not  well  set,  or  they  did  not  expect  an 
army  to  approach  them  at  that  time  of  the 

34 


day.  They  were  making  ready  for  their 
burial  and  did  not  know  it. 

The  battle  was  fought  between  two  and 
four  o'clock.  The  official  account  which  I 
am  giving  in  the  following  pages  says  that 
they  arrived  at  the  mountain  about  two 
o'clock.  If  this  be  true,  and  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  doubt  it,  the  battle  was  fought  at 
the  time  named  above.  The  official  account 
says  that  it  lasted  one  hour  and  five  min- 
utes, but  others  who  were  there  said  that 
it  lasted  just  forty  seven  minutes.  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  none  of  them  knew  just 
how  many  minutes  it  lasted  as  the  occas- 
ion was  such  that  they  could  scarcely  give 
the  exact  time.  It  must  not  have  been 
fought  more  than  an  hour.  It  was  fought 
with  such  terrific  fierceness  that  it  could 
not  have  lasted  very  long.  Like  Gideon's 
men  they  shouted,  "Remember  Buford's 
men  at  Waxhaw,"  and  they  went  in  with 
a  yell  the  Britishers  and  the  Tories  had 
never  heard  before.  Their  unearthly  yells 
and  the  daring  way  they  w7ent  at  enemy 
daunted  them  in  the  very  beginning.  They 
f  ought  like  a  lion  at  bay.  Their  enemies 
fought  like  heroes,  but  our  men  had  more 
to  fight  for  than  they.  The  Loyalists  did 
not  fire  on  us  at  the  beginning,  but  used 
their  bayonets.  This  was  more  than  our 
men  could  endure  as  they  had  nothing  but 

35 


squirrel  rifles.  They  did  not  have  bay  one  l;g 
on  them;  but  our  men  retreated  to  come 
again  with  greater  zeal  and  determination. 
Back  and  forth  for  a  little  while,  and  fin- 
ally our  men  won  the  day.  Ferguson  was 
slain  and  possibly  three  hundred  of  his 
brave  men.  It  is  real  hard  to  tell  just  how 
many  of  them  were  slain,  but  according 
to  the  official  report  to  the  governor,  there 
must  have  been  about  three  hundred  kill- 
ed. DePeyster,  the  officer  next  in  rank  to 
Ferguson,  took  charge  when  Ferguson  fell, 
and  it  was  not  long  until  he  ran  up  the 
white  flag.  Our  men  at  first  did  not  recog- 
nize it,  but  finally  they  did,  and  ceased  fir- 
ing. They  could  not  forget  Buford's  men. 
Our  officers  did  all  they  could  to  observe 
the  rules  of  civilized  war  fare.  Much  ex- 
citement prevailed  at  the  close  of  the  bat- 
tle, and  an  incident  after  the  battle  was 
over  came  near  causing  all  of  the  British 
and  the  Tories  to  be  slain  on  the  battle 
field.  Some  of  Ferguson's  foragers  who 
were  not  m  the  battle  came  up  just  as  they 
were  stacking  arms,  they  did  '  not  know 
what  had  taken  place  and  began  firing. 
Our  men  did  not  know  just  what  it  meant, 
and  when  they  thought  that  possibly  Tar- 
leton  had  arrived  they  were  about  to  butch- 
er all  of  the  prisoners,  but  the  officers 
quelled  their  fears  and  sent  the  foragers 

36 


On  their  way  at  breakneck  speed  to  tell  the 
news  to  other  Tories.  They  did  not  capture 
them  as  they  had  the  advantage  of  our 
men  and  galloped  off  at  full  speed,  and  yet 
not  without  harm  as  they  mortally  wound- 
ed Col.  James  Williams.  When  our  men 
had  gotten  theings  quiet,  it  was  nearly 
dark.  Our  forces  remained  on  the  battle 
field  until  the  next  morning.  The  only  sur- 
geon to  care  for  the  wounded  and  the  dy- 
ing was  the  British  physician,  Dr.  Uzah 
Johnson.  He  did  all  he  could  for  friend  and 
foe. 

The  following  ballad  found  among  the 
papers  of  Robert  Long,  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  is  not  out  of  place  here : 

""Come  all  of  you  good  people,  I  pray  you  draw  near, 
A  tragical  story  you  shall  quickly  hear 
Of  Whigs  and  of"  Tories,  how  they  bred  a  great  strife. 
When  they  chased  old  Ferguson  out  of  his  life. 

Brave  Colonel  Williams  from  -Hillsboro  came, 
The  South  Carolinians  flocked  to  him  amain, 
Four  hundred  and  fifty,  a  jolly  brisk  crew, 
After  old  Ferguson  We  then  did  persue. 

Wc-marchVl  to  the  Gowpens-brave  Campbell  was  there, 
And  Shelby,  and  Cleveland,  and  Colonel  Sevier, 
Taking  the  lead  of  their  bold  mountaineers, 
Brave  Indian  fighters,  devoid  of  all  fears. 

They  were  men  of  renown — like  lions  so  bold, 
Like  lions  undaunted,  ne'er  to  be  controlled 
They  were  bent  on  the  game  they  had  in  their 

37 


eye, 

Determined  to  take  it — to  conquer  or  die. 

We  march'd  from  the  Cowpens  that  very  same 
night, 

Some  times  we  were  wrong — some  times  we  were 
right, 

Our  hearts  being  run  in  true  liberty's  mold, 
We  regarded  not  hunger,  wet,  weary,  nor  cold. 

Early  next  morning  we  came  to  the  ford, 
Cherokee  was  its  name — and  "Buford"  the  word. 
We  marched  through  the  river,  with  courage  so 
free, 

Expecting  the  foeman,  we  might  quickly  see. 

Like  eagles  a  hungry  in  search  of  their  prey, 
We  chas'd  the  old  fox  the  best  part  of  the  day, 
At  length  on  Kings  Mountain  the  old  rogue  we 
found, 

And  we,  like  bold  heroes,  his  camp  did  surround. 

The  drums  they  did  beat,  and  the  guns  they  did 
rattle, 

Our  enemies  stood  us  a  very  smart  battle. 

Like  lightning  the  flashes,  like  thunder  the  noise, 

Such  was  the  onset  of  our  bold  mountain  boys. 

The  battle  did  last  the  best  part  of  an  hour, 
The  guns  they  did  roar — the  bullets  did  shower, 
With  an  oath  in  our  hearts  to  conquer  the  field, 

We  rush'd  on  the  Tories-resolv'd  they  should  yield, 

We  laid  old  ferguson  dead  on  the  ground, 
Four  hundred  and  fifty  dead  Tories  lay  round- 
Making  a  large  escort,  if  not  so  wise, 
To  guide  him  to  his  chosen  abode  in  the  skies.  . 

Brave  Colonel  Williams,  and  twenty  five  more 

38 


Of  our  brave  heroes  lay  rolle'  in  their  gore, 
With  sorrow  their  bodies  were  laid  in  the  clay, 
In  hopes  that  to  heaven  their  souls  took  their  way. 

We  shouted  the  victory,  the  victory  that  we  did  obtain, 
Our  voices  were  heard  seven  miles  on  the  plains, 
Liberty  shall  stand-and  the  Tories  shall  fall, 
Here's  an  end  to  my  song-  so  God  bless  you  all. 

No  one  knows  who  wrote  the  above 
poem,  but  it  must  have  been  written  by  one 
of  the  soldiers  who  fought  in  that  battle, 
and  as  it  gives  considerable  information  I 
have  republished  it  here  so  that  it  may  be 
handed  down  to  those  who  are  to  followr 
us.  This  poem  was  taken  from  Draper's 
History. 

The  dead  were  not  buried  until  the  next 
morning,  and  many  of  them  not  at  all. 
The  American  side  lost  twenty  eight  killed 
and  sixty  wounded.  Many  of  our  men  were 
carried  to  Old  Shiloh  Presbyterian  church 
burying  ground  where  they  were  interred. 
We  do  not  know  just  how  many,  but  sever- 
al of  them  must  have  meen  buried  there. 
No  slab  marks  their  last  resting  places,  but 
they  are  there.  Seme  of  the  relatives  of 
the  dead  went  for  them  and  carried  them 
home  and  buried  them  in  their  family 
burying  grounds.  And  some  were  buried 
in  Old  Pisgah  grave  yard  a  few  miles  out 
of  Ki  ngs  Mountain.  We  have  heard  of  one 
instance  of  this  kind.  It  was  that  of  Mrs. 

39-'-  —  


Preston  Goforth,  who  lived  on  the  old 
Shelby  road  not  far  from  the  Old  Weir 
bridge.  When  she  heard  of  the  death  of  her 
husband  that  night,  she  hitched  her  hag  to 
her  old  sled  and  went  for  her  husband's 
body.  She  brought  it  home,  and  buried  it 
in  the  Goforth  grave  yard  which  is  not 
very  far  from  Mr.  Pink  Herndon's  place 
on  the  Shelby  road.  Two  Goforth  boys  were 
killed.  One  was  a  Tory  and  the  other  was 
a  Whig.  The  story  in  this  section  is  that 
they  shot  each  other.  It  is  true  that  two 
brothers  did  kill  each  other  in  this  mighty 
struggle,  but  history  does  not  say  who  they 
were.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  section 
around  Kings  Mountain  that  they  were  the 
two  brothers  who  killed  each  other.  This  is 
not  a  fact,  but  it  is  plausible  enough  to  be- 
lieve. 

The  enemies  were  supposed  to  have  been 
buried  on  the  battle  field,  but  they  were 
not  buried  at  all.  A  little  trench  was  dug 
on  the  north  eastern  side  of  the  mountain 
and  their  bodies  were  rolled  into  it,  but 
they  were  not  covered  deep  enough  to 
keep  the  wild  hogs  and  wolves  from  root- 
ing them  up  and  devouring  their  bodies. 
This  country  was  full  of  wild  beasts  at  that 
time.  They  roamed  it  over,  and  to  find 
such  a  thing  as  hundreds  of  bodies'  cover- 
ed  but   slightly  gave  them  all  the  chance 

40 


they  desired.  It  is  true  that  many  of  the 
wounded  were  not  cared  for,  and  possibly 
many  of  them  were  devoured  before  life 
was  extinct.  Our  forces  did  not  have  the 
time  or  the  means  to  care  for  them.  They 
were  expecting  Tarleton's  furious  legions 
at  any  time,  so  they  burned  the  wagon 
train  of  the  enemy,  seventeen  in  number, 
and  made  a  hasty  departure  for  other 
quarters.  It  is  said  that  they  started  with 
six  hundred  prisoners,  but  they  did  not  re- 
port but  one  hundred.  What  became  of 
them?  Well,  we  shall  know  in  the  Day  of 
all  days,  and  not  until  then.  You  can  imag- 
ine what  became  of  many  of  them.  Of 
course,  many  of  them  escaped,  but  others 
were  killed  by  the  way  side.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  so  much  cruelty  was  practiced 
that  our  officers  had  to  issue  some  very 
stringent  orders,  but  the  enemy  brought  it 
on.  They  had  been  hanging  our  men  wher- 
ever they  could  capture  one  and  doing  all 
kinds  of  audacious  things,  as  cruel  as  they 
could  devise,  so  now  was  the  time  for  ours 
to  get  revenge,  and  they  did. 

In  1815,  a  meeting  was  called   for  the 
purpose  of  celebrat  ing  this  victory  and  to 
bury  the  dead.     The  bones  of  the ,  enemy • 
were  picked  up  and  buried  some  where  on 
the  mountain.     A  slab  was  placed  at  the 

graves  of  three  of  our  gallant   men  who 

11 


1.  Ferguson's  grave.  2.  Where  Ferguson 
fell. j>.  Capt.  John  Weer's  old  home.  4.  The 
new  monument  1909.  5.  Col.  Fred  Ham- 
bright's  old  home  near  battlefield.  6.  Sec- 
ond monument  1880.  7.  Where  our  heroes 
sleep. 

42 


fell  in  the  struggle.  This  stone  is  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  where  our  men  ascended 
from.  The  old  stone  has  been  terribly  de- 
faced, but  a  new  one  has  taken  its  place 
and  a  nice  iron  fence  has  been  placed 
around  their  graves. 

The  battle  field  was  visited  by  those  who 
lived  near  it  for  several  weeks  after  the 
armies  had  passed  on.  Many  souvenirs 
were  picked  up,  but  the  most  of  them  have 
been  destroyed.  Arthur  Patterson,  whom 
we  shall  say  a  great  deal  about  in  subse- 
quent statements,  picked  up  a  nice  string 
of  beads,  or  he  took  them  off  the  neck  of 
one  of  the  women  Ferguson  had  with  him. 
She  was  one  of  the  first  to  fall.  Her  body 
was  thrown  upon  a  brush  pile,  and  young- 
Patterson  found  her  there  with  the  beads 
around  her  neck.  They  were  kept  by  one  of 
his  daughters  until  a  few  years  ago.  She 
gave  them  to  Mr.  E.  A.  Patterson  who 
gave  many  of  them  to  his  friends  when 
they  had  the  celebration  there  in  1880.  The 
remainder  of  them  have  been  lost  and  no 
one  knows  where  they  are.  They  would  be 
quite  a  curiosity  for  us  if  we  had  them  to 
display  to  the  public. 

The  battle  field  is  still  visited  by  hun- 
dreds every  year.  It  is  a  great  place  for 
young  people's  gatherings,  and  especially 
for  those  who  wish  to    learn  more  about 

43 


what  our  liberty  cost  us.  The  town  of  Kings 
Mountain  has  a  celebration  occasionally. 
The  place  ought  to  be  cared  for  better 
than  it  is.  Our  government  ought  to  place 
a  fence  around  it  and  make  it  a  national 
park.  It  has  bought  forty  acres  of  land 
there,  but  no  care  is  taken  of  it. 

The  following  officers  were  those  who 
led  the  American  forces,  and  they  were  as 
brave  a  set  of  officers  as  ever  led  an  army 
since  the  world  began;  Colonel  Chas.  Mc- 
Dowell led  the  Burke  and  Rutherford  men ; 
Colonel  B.vijamin  Cleveland  led  the  Wilkes 
and  Surry  men  assisted  by  Major  Joseph 
Winston;  Colonel  John  Sevier  led  the  men 
from  Washington  county,  now  Tennessee. 
Colonel  Isaac  Shelby  led  the  men  from  Sul- 
livan county,  this  is  also  Tennessee  at 
present.  Those  from  Washington,  Virgin- 
ia, were  commanded  by  Colonel  William 
Campbell.  Colonel  Frederick  Hambright 
commanded  Mr.  Graham's  South  Fork  men 
while  he  was  away  looking  after  his  wife 
who  was  seriously  ill  at  the  time  of  the 
battle.  Colonel  James  Williams  was  also  in 
command  of  a  company  from  South  Car- 
olina and  rendered  valiant  service. 

These  officers  were  not  mercenaries,  but 
were  fighting  for  their  love  of  country. 
Colonel  Hambright  was  at  home  on  that 
hill.  He  had  hunted  deer  and  wild  turkeys 

44 


all  over  that  section,  so  they  say.  It  is  re- 
ported in  that  section  today  that  the  brave 
Colonel  and  another  man  of  that  section 
had  a  deer  blind  on  top  of  the  mountain 
where  Ferguson  camped,  and  that  he 
knew  every  foot  of  the  land  where  the  bat- 
tle was  fought.  I  do  not  know  how  true 
this  story  is,  but  it  is  very  evident  that 
some  one  of  those  officers  knew  all  about 
that  hill,  or  they  could  never  have  ap- 
proached it  as  they  did.  That  was  one  of 
the  best  pieces  of  engineering  I  have  ever 
seen.  They  knew  just  where  to  hit  and  how 
to  make  their  approach. 

The  officers  had  the  following  number 
of  men;  McDowell  had  one  hundred  and 
sixty  men  from  Burke  and  Rutherford 
counties ;  Cleveland  and  Winston  had  three 
hundred  and  fifty  from  Surry  and  Wilkes ; 
Sevier  had  two  hundred  and  forty  from 
East  Tennessee;  Shelby  had  two  hundred 
and  forty  from  the  same  state,  and  almost 
the  same  section,  and  Campbell  had  four 
hundred  from  Virginia.  The  whole  army 
numbered  thirteen  hundred  and  ninety 
men,  but  there  was  not  that  many  in  the 
battle.  No  one  knows  just  how  many  were 
engaged  in  it.  So  many  men  joined  with- 
out enlisting  regularly.  They  just  stopped 
their  plows  in  the  furrow  and  loaded  their 
rifles  and  went  to  work.     This  battle  was 

45 


fought  in  defense  of  their  country.  They 
had  lost  their  cattle  and  food  stuff  as  long 
as  they  could  stand  it,  so  now  they  must 
fight  to  have  peace.  The  whole  country 
was  stirred  by  the  many  depredations  the 
Tories  and  the  Britishers  had  committed 
against  it,  and  by  the  terrible  threats  Col- 
onel Ferguson  had  sent  to  many  families 
living  in  this  and  adjoining  neighbor- 
hoods. All  of  this  had  aroused  the  people 
who  lived  in  this  section  until  they  were 
ready  to  fight  for  their  liberties  as  but  few 
people  have  ever  been  prepared.  You  can 
worry  a  man  for  a  long  time  and  not  get 
his  fighting  blood  much  aroused,  but  when 
he  does  not  know  at  what  moment  he  and 
his  family  are  going  to  be  taken  prison- 
ers, or  possibly  hanged,  you  may  look  fox 
that  fellow  to  give  you  a  considerable  scrap 
if  he  feels  that  he  has  a  chance  at  his  ene- 
my. Such  was  the  case  with  all  who  lived 
in  this  section  when  the  battle  of  Kings 
Mountain  was  fought.  It  is  true  that  there 
were  many  Tories  in  this  section,  possibly 
more  than  any  other  section  of  our  coun- 
try. Just  win:  this  was  true,  I  am  not  able 
to  say,  unless  it  was  because  Ferguson  had 
made  so  many  threats,  and  because  they 
thought  that  the  American  cause  could  not 
win.  This  must  have  been  the  case  with 
many  of  them  as  they  joined  the  Ameri- 

46 


can  army  just  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  the 
tide  had  turned. 

Our  men  in  this  section  were  watching 
for  an  opportunity  to  get  even  with  their 
Tory  neighbors  who  had  been  robbing 
them  of  ail  of  their  provisions,  and  were 
even  driving  their  cattle  to  Ferguson's 
camps.  When  the  news  spread  throughout 
this  country  that  our  men  were  approach- 
ing Kings  Mountain  where  Ferguson  was 
encamped,  they  forgot  all  of  their  home  af- 
fairs and  made  ready  at  once  to  help  in 
every  way  they  could,  and  of  course,  there 
was  more  or  less  curiosity  for  some.  They 
just  wanted  to  see  what  was  going  to  take 
place,  and  they  did;  but  the  most  of  them 
made  as  good  soldiers  as  if  they  had  been 

trained   by   Fergusorij  the  most  noted 

marksmar) .  the^woHd  has  ever  produced. 
But  they  did  not  go  into  this  battle  like 
barbarians.  They  went  into  it  like  bold 
heroes  of  God.  They  did  not  go  into  it 
without  recognizing  the  Almighty  hand  of 
Him  who  rules  all  the  wars,  and  gives  all 
of  the  victories,  for  while  the  battle  raged 
two  of  our  men,  ministers  of  the"  gospel, 
were  down  on  the  hillside  praying  that  the 
Lord  might  stay  the  hands  of  our  men  as 
he  had  done  those  of  the  past,  so  that  they 
might  win  the  day  and  save  America  from 
heathenism   and   treachery.     Those  men 

47 


were  Elder  Joseph  Logan  and  a  Presby- 
terian minister  whose  name  has  not  been 
given.  It  is  likely  to  have  been  the  pastor 
of  the  Old  Shiloh  Presbyterian  church 
which  was  not  very  far  from  the  battle 
ground  and  where  so  many  of  the  soldiers 
were  buried.  There  are  two  Presbyterian 
churches  near  the  battle  field,  and  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  both  of  them  had 
pastors  living  near  them.  They  usually  had 
their  pastors  living  near  them  to  teach 
their  children  and  do  anything  that  came  to 
hand  a  pastor  could  do.  The  other  church 
was  Old  Pisgah.  It  was  located  about 
two  miles  from  Kings  Mountain  on  the  Lin- 
wood  road.  It  is  near  Mr.  Fred  Finger's 
farm.  The  old  cemetery  is  still  in  good 
shape  and  the  stones  are  still  standing  so 
that  their  epitaphs  may  be  read,  but  the 
church  has  been  moved  beyond  Linwood. 
The  old  church  had  fourteen  acres  of  land 
which  is  still  owned  by  Pisgah  church.  It 
is  said  that  several  of  those  killed  in  the 
battle  were  buried  there,  and  if  this  be 
true,  it  is  likely  that  the  pastor  of  this 
church,  or  of  Shiloh  was  the  man  who 
wrestled  with  God  while  the  battle  was 
raging.  It  is  not  known  where  Elder  Lo- 
gan preached.  There  was  not  a  Baptist 
church  in  this  section  at  that  time.  There 
were  several  just  a  few  miles  away.  Old 

48 


Long  Creek  near  Dallas  was  organized 
long  before  this  time,  and  another  in  South 
Carolina,  possibly  Old  Buffalo,  had  been 
organized  some  time  before  this  occur- 
rence. I  do  not  know  where  Logan  lived, 
or  where  he  preached,  but  it  is  said  that 
he  came  from  Lincoln  county,  but  this  i£ 
quite  indefinite  as  Lincoln  county  embrac- 
ed so  much  at  this  time.  The  Whigs  conj 
sidered  the  Tories  and  the  Britishers  bar- 
barians and  so  designated  them,  but  they 
themselves  believed  in  God  and  looked  to 
him  for  help  to  win  all  of  their  battles. 
The  American  side  Was  the  Lord's  side. 
The  commander-in-chief  was  a  God-fear- 
ing man,  and  his  men  with  him  knew  that 
God  must  give  them  the  victory,  or  they 
failed.  Below  I  am  giving  an  account  of 
the  battle  as  it  was  reported  by  three  of 
the  officers  who  engaged  in  it. What  they 
say  about  it  ought  to  have  weight  with 
those  who  want  to  know  the  truth  of  the 
matter.  This  report  is  from  Wheeler's  His- 
tory of  North  Carolina,  page  104,  105. 

"On  receiving  intelligence  that  Major 
Ferguson  had  advanced  as  high  up  as 
*  Gilbert  Town,  in  Rutherford  county,  and 
threatened  to  cross  the  mountains  to  the 
western  waters,  Col.  Wm.  Campbell,  with 
four  hundred  men  from  Washington  coun- 

♦Gilbert  Town  is  supposed  to  be  Forest  City. 

49 

iK^vqa^nJ^^  s^K  vitL**.  tAjUJ\  a^^- 


ty,  Virginia;  Col.  Isaac  Shelby,  with  two 
hundred  and  forty  men  from  Sullivan 
county,  of  North  Carolina;  and  Lieut.- 
Col.  John  Sevier,  with  two  hundred  and 
forty  men  of  Washington  county,  North 
Carolina,  assembled  at  Watauga,  on  the 
25th.  day  of  September,  where  they  were 
joined  by  Col.  Chas.  McDowell,  with  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men  from  the  counties 
of  Burke  and  Rutherford,  who  had  fled 
before  the  enemy  to  the  western  waters. 

We  began  our  march  on  the  26th.  of, 
and,  on  the  30th.  we  were  joined  by  Colonel 
Cleveland,  on  the  Catawba  River,  with 
three  hundred  and  fifty  men  from  the 
counties  of  Wilkes  and  Surry.  No  officer 
having  properly  a  right  to  the  command 
in  chief,  on  the  1st.  of  October  we  dispatch- 
ed an  express  to  Major-Gen.  Gates,  in- 
forming him  of  our  situation,  and  reques- 
ed  him  to  send  a  general  officer  to  take 
command  of  the  whole.  In  the  meantime, 
Col.  Campbell  was  chosen  to  act  as  com- 
mandant till  such  general  officer  should  ar- 
rive. 

We  reached  Cowpens,  on  the  Broad  Riv- 
er, in  South  Carolina,  where  we  were 
joined  by  Col.  James  Williams  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  6th  of  October,  who  informed  us 
that  the  enemy  lay  encamped  somewhere 
near  the    Cherokee  Ford  of  Broad  River, 

50 


about  thirty  miles  distant  from  us.  By  a 
council  of  the  principal  officers,  it  was  then 
thought  advisable  to  persue  the  enemy  that- 
night  with  nine  hundred  men  of  the  best 
horsemen,  and  leave  the  weak  horses  and 
the  footmen  to  follow  as  fast  as  possible. 
We  began  our  march  with  nine  hundred  of 
the  best  men,  about  eight  o'clock  the  same 
evening,  and  marched  all  night  ;  came  up 
with  the  enemy  about  three  o'clock,  P.  M., 
of  the  7th,  who  lay  encamped  on  the  top  of 
Kings  Mountain,  twelve  miles  north  of  the 
Cherokee  Ford,  in  the  confidence  that  they 
could  not  be  forced  from  so  advantageous 
a  post.  Previous  to  the  attack,  in  our 
march  the  following  disposition  was  made: 
Col.  Shelby's  regiment  formed  a  column 
in  the  center  on  the  left;  Col  Campbell's 
another  on  the  right;  part  of  Col.  Cleve- 
land's regiment,  headed  in  the  front  by 
Major  Winston  and  Col.  Sevier's,  formed 
a  large  column  on  the  right  wing ;  the 
other  part  of  Col.  Cleveland's  regiment 
composed  the  left  wing.  In  this  order  we 
"advanced,  and  got  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  enemy  before  we  were  discov- 
ered. Col.  Shelby's  and  Col  Campbell's  reg- 
iments began  the  attack,  and  kept  up  a 
fire  on  the  enemy,  while  the  right  and  left 
"wings  were  advancing  forward  to  sur- 
round them,  which  was  done  in  about  five 

51 


minutes,  and  the  fire  became  general  all 
around.  The  engagement  lasted  an  hour 
and  five  minutes,  the  greatest  part  of 
which  time  a  heavy  incessant  fire  was  kept 
upon  both  sides.  Our  men,  in  some  parts 
where  the  regulars  fought,  were  obliged  to 
give  way  a  small  distance  two  or  three 
times,  but  rallied  and  returned  wiith  addi- 
tional ardor  to  the  attack.  The  troops  upon 
the  right  having  gained  the  summit  of  the 
eminence,  obliged  the  enemy  to  retreat 
along  the  top  of  the  ridge,  where  CoL 
Cleveland  commanded  and  were  there 
stopped  by  his  brave  men.  A  flag  was  im- 
mediately hoisted  by  Captain  DePeyster, 
the  commanding  officer  (Major  Ferguson 
having  been  killed  a  little  before),  for  a 
surrender.  Our  fire  immediately  stopped, 
and  the  enemy  laid  down  their  arms — the 
greater  part  of  them  loaded — and  surrend- 
ered themselves  to  us  prisoners  at  discre- 
tion. It  appears,  from  their  own  provision 
returns  for  that  day,  found  in  their  camp, 
that  their  whole  force  consisted  of  eleven 
hundred  and  twenty  five  men,  out  of  which 
they  sustained  the  following  loss:  of  the 
regulars,  one  major,  one  captain,  two  lieu- 
tenants, and  fifteen  privates  killed;  thirty 
five  privates  wounded,  left  on  the  ground 
not  able  to  march,  two  captains,  four  lieu- 
tenants, three  ensigns,  one  surgeon,  five 


sergeants,  three  corporals,  and  one  drum- 
mer, and  fifty  nine  privates  taken  prison- 
ers. 

Loss  of  the  Tories,  two  colonels,  three 
captains,  and  two  hundred  and  one  pri- 
vates killed;  one  major  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  seven  privates  wounded,  and 
one  left  on  the  ground  not  able  to  march; 
one  colonel,  twelve  captains,  eleven  lieu- 
tenants, two  ensigns,  one  quarter  master, 
and  one  adjutant,  two  commissaries,  eigh- 
teen sergeants  and  six  hundred  privates 
were  taken  prisoners.  Total  loss  to  the  ene- 
my 1,105  men  at  Kings  Mountain. 

Given  under  our  hands  at  Camp. 

William  Campbell. 

Isaac  Shelby. 

Benjamin  Cleveland. 

I  consider  the  above  report  from  the  of- 
ficers who  were  engaged  in  the  battle  as 
an  accurate  account  of  the  number  engag- 
ed in  the  battle,  and  the  number  of  casu- 
alties. Surely  the  officers  who  were  in  the 
battle,  and  who  directed  the  attack  knew 
more  about  it  than  men  who  wrote  fifty 
years  after  all  of  the  heroes  were  dead. 
The  above  report  ought  to  be  conclusive  to 
every  rational  mind. 


54 


The  next  matter  I  wish  to  mention  in  this 
sketch  is  that  of  the  officers  on  the  oppos- 
ing side.  It  is  not  fair  to  give  oniy  one 
side  of  any  question.  The  lea_der  of  the 
British  and  the  Tories  was  Major  Patrick 
Ferguson.  He  was  one  of  the  most  daring 
men  the  world  has  ever  produced.  It  is 
needless  to  try  to  argue  that  he  was  not  a 
skilled  officer,  for  he  was  one  of  the  finest 
militarist  the  world  has  ever  seen.  He  was 
an  inventive  genius.  He  invented  a  breech 
leading  rifle  that  he  used  to  great  advan- 
tage on  several  occasions.  He  could  fire  it 
seven  times  in  a  minute,  and  place  two 
bullets  out  of  five  in  the  same  hole  thirty 
paces  away.  His  men  were  loyal  to  him, 
and  his  enemies  feared  him.  He  terrorized 
a  community  by  sending  threatening  let- 
ters to  all  of  the  leading  citizens  as  soon 
as  he  landed.  He  had  two  women  who  went 
with  him  on  his  campaigns.  They  were 
known  as  Virginia  Sal,  a  red  headed  wo- 
man, and  Virginia  Saul.  Virginia  Sal  was 
killed  in  the  battle  and  the  other  one  was 
taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Morganton, 
and  from  there  she  was  sent  to  Cornwallis 
at  Charlotte.  Ferguson  had  one  of  his  arms 
rendered  useless  by  being  shot  through  it 
in  a  former  battle,  but  he  could  use  his  left 
arm  and  do  much  damage.  He  was  as  brave 
as  a  lion  and  as  daring  as   man   can  be. 

55, 


When  he  saw  that  he  was  over  powered, 
he  undertook  to  cut  his  way  through  the 
lines  of  the  Americans,  but  they  were 
ready  for  him.  He  had  on  a  checked  duster, 
and  as  soon  as  the  Americans  saw  him, 
they  shot  him  off  of  his  horse.  Some  say 
that  he  was  hit  by  six  balls,  and  others  say 
that  he  was  hit  by  eight.  It  is  uncertain 
who  hit  him  and  how  many  balls  hit  him 
but  this  one  thing  is  true,  he  was  hit  and 
died  on  the  spot*  His  body  suffered  many 
indignities,  being  stripped  of  all  its  cloth- 
ing, and  wrapped  in  a  cow  hide,  and  his- 
body  with  that  of  the  red  headed  woman 
who  was  killed  in  the  early  part  of  the 
battle,  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
on  the  eastern  side.  Some  have  doubted  that 
his  body  was  buried  there,  but  I  do  not 
think  there  is  any  doubt  about  it.  Dr, 
Tracy,  many  years  ago  dug  up  the  remains- 
of  his  body  and  found  several  things  to 
show  that  he  had  been  buried  there.  The 
grave  now  has  a  great  pile  of  stones  over 
it  placed  there  by  those  who  have  visited  it 
from  time  to  time. 

The  next  officer  of  note  in  the  British 
army  was  DePeyster.  He  was  a  very  dar- 
ing man,  but  seemed  to  have  more  consid- 
eration than  Ferguson.  He  took  command 
as  soon  as  he  saw  that  Ferguson  had  fall- 
en, but  did  not  resist  very  long.  He  order 

56 


ed  that  the  white  flag  be  run  up  in  token 
of  their  surrender,  which  was  not  recog- 
nized by  our  men  until  our  officers  went 
into  their  lines. 

Ihe  Tories  suffered  most  in  this  battle. 
They  had  given  so  much  trouble  that  the 
people  despised  them,  and  when  they  had 
a  chance  to  get  even  with  them,  they  had 
no  mercy. 

Some  have  said  that  the  officers  on  the 
Royalists  side  were  not  men  of  any  mili- 
tary standing,  and  that  our  men  were 
nothing  but  a  set  of  half  civilized  buffoons 
who  did  not  have  conscience  or  credit,  but 
there  was  never  a  greater  falsehood  circu- 
lated. The  most  of  the  men  who  fought  in 
that  battle  were  ardent  church  folks.  Many 
of  them  were  church  officials,  and  as  has  al- 
ready been  said,  two  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel were  down  on  the  mountain  side  pray- 
ing while  the  battle  was  raging.  One  com- 
pany was  almost  one  hundred  per  cent 
Presbyterian,  while  other  companies  were 
mixed,  some  Baptist,  some  Calvinist,  and 
some  nothing  x\t  all  Those  men  were  God 
fearing,  and  they  diowred  it  by  the  way 
they  defended  freedom's  cause.  We  can  not 
do  too  much  to  honor  them,  nor  can  we  say 
too  much  about  their  bravery  and  true 
heroism.  They  were  not  militarist,  but  they 
knew  how  to  fight;  they  did  not  know  how 

57 


to  lay  systematic  plans  for  battle  consid- 
ering it  from  a  scientific  stand  point,  but 
they  knew  how  to  whip  the  red  coats,  and 
they  did  it. 

The  next  matter  I  wish  to  take  up  in  my 
story  is  that  of  the  relatives  of  those 
heroes  who  lived  in  our  town,  and  especial- 
ly those  who  belong  to  our  church.  I  cannot 
mention  all  of  the  relatives  of  those  who 
live  in  our  town.  It  would  make  the  book 
so  large  that  I  could  not  publish  it,  but  I 
am  going  to  do  my  best  to  give  honor  to 
whom  honor  is  due.  I  am  going  to  give  the 
line  of  descent  of  those  who  belong  to  our 
church,  and  I  shall  mention  all  of  the  others 
as  I  have  occasion  to  do  so.  I  have  had 
much  trouble  to  get  all  of  the  data  togeth- 
er for  this  one  point,  and  I  hope  that  I 
have  not  missed  any  line  of  descent,  but 
if  I  have,  I  cannot  help  it.  I  have  done  my 
best.  I  have  gone  many  miles  hunting  this 
information,  and  yet  I  am  afraid  that  I 
have  missed  some.  So  few  people  in  this 
section  know  their  line  of  ancestry.  I  have 
the  following  families  to  trace;  The  Ham- 
brights,  the  Weirs,  the  Logans,  the  Patter- 
sons, the  Hughes,  the  Parkers,  the  Carpen- 
ters, the  Fultons,  and  the  Harmons,  and 
those  who  are  related  to  these  families.  I 
shall  mention  the  Goforths,  and  a  few 
others  who  figured  projniently  in  the  ar- 


rangements  for  the  battle,  namely  the 
Herndons,  and  the  Birds.  Both  these  fami- 
lies have  come  from  noble  ancestry.  Joseph 
Herndon  was  a  great  gunsmith,  and  Col. 
Bird  made  the  pow^r  and  the  balls  for 
our  men.  They  were  just  assential  as  the 
work  done  on  the  field  of  battle.  They  must 
have  arms,  and  their  arms  must  have  am- 
munition, or  they  are  useless.  Both  these 
families  came  from  the  stock  that  knew 
how  to  get  things  ready  for  the  fight. 

Let  us  begin  with  Gillie  D.  Hambright. 
He  is  a  son  of  Ansel  Hambright  who  was 
killed  by  a  runaway  team  many  years  ago. 
Gillie  Hambright  has  four  children  who 
are  members  of  our  church.  They  are 
Claude,  Annie  Love,  Corrinne,  and  Sarah. 
He  has  one  other  little  girl  too  young  to  be 
a  member.  Her  name  is  Mary  Helen.  Ansel 
Hambright's  father  was  Gilbert  Ham- 
bright whose  wife  was  Sallie  Dixon.  Gil- 
bert  Hambright's  father  was  Col.  Fred- 
erick Hambright  one  of  the  most  noted 
heroes  in  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain. 
He  had  charge  of  Major  Graham's  com- 
mand while  he  was  called  home  because  of 
the  serious  illness  of  his  wife,  just  a  little 
while  before  the  battle.  However  he  made 
a  hasty  return,  but  did  not  assume  com- 
mand of  his  regiment  until  after  the  battle 
was  fought. 

59 


Draper  has  this  to  say  about  Lt.  Col 
Frederick  Hambright ;  "P  rederick  Ham- 
bright  was  born  in  Germany,  1727,  and/ 
when  a  youth,  was  taken  to  Pennsylvania 
about  1728.  His  father  and  mother  were 
full  blooded  Germans.  They  moved  to  Lan- 
caster, Penn.,  in  1738."  (The  Hambright 
family  is  still  very  prominent  there.) 

About  1755,  he  moved  to  Virginia,  where 
he  married  Miss  Sarah  Hardin;  and,  about 
1760,  he  migrated  to  North  Carolina,  set- 
tling near  the  South  Fork,  forting  awhile 
against  the  Indians.  In  August,  1775,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress. 
He  served  as  a  Captain  on  the  frontiers  in 
June,  1776;  and,  in  the  fall,  on  Ruther- 
ford's Cherokee  campaign.  He  was  made 
Lieutenant  Colonel  in  1779;  and,  late  in 
that  year,  he  went  to  the  relief  of  Charles- 
ton, serving  in  Lillington's  brigade,  and 
returning  before  the  surrender  of  that 
place.  In  1780,  he  served  under  Colonel  Mc- 
Dowell in  the  Broad  River  region;  and  suc- 
ceeding Colonel  Graham,  fought  at  Kings 
Mountain,  where  he  was  badly  wounded; 
and  where  hj&json,  John,  also  did  service, 
rising  to  the  rank  of  Captain  before  the 
close  of  the  war.  Twice  married,  he  was 
the  father  of  eighteen  children;  and  died 
March  9th,  1817,  in  the  ninetieth  year  of 
his  life.  Draper  page  476-77* 

60 


Colonel  Hambright  was  one  of  the  brav^ 
est  men  the  Revolution  had  to  fight  in  it, 
When  he  was  shot  through  the  thigh  at 
the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  he  refused 
to  dismount  to  have  his  wound  dressed, 
fearing  that  it  might  weaken  the  force  he 
Was  commanding.  He  said  that  he  was  not 
sick  and  the  victory  must  be  won.  He  did 
not  dismount  until  the  battle  was  over, 
then  he  got  off  his  steed  and  found  that  his 
boot  was  full  of  blood. 

Draper  says  that  he  owned  a  small  tract 
of  land  near  the  battle  field,  and  that  he 
had  a  small  cabin  on  this,  to  which  place 
he  was  carried  when  the  battle  was  over. 
This  may  be  true,  and  it  may  not  be  true, 
This  we  know,  he  was  taken  to  a  Mrs, 
Cover's  near  the  battlefield.  This  widow 
had  a  very  fine  daughter  who  was  an  un- 
compromising Whig.  She  nursed  the  Colo- 
nel until  he  was  able  to  be  carried  home, 
While  the  Colonel's  wounds  were  being 
treated  at  the  home  of  the  Good  Widow 
Dover,  his  wife,  who  was  then  at  their* 
home  near  Dallas,  North  Carolina,  became 
very  sick  and  died  either  before  he  was 
able  to  return,  or  very  soon  after  he  re- 
turned home.  History  is  very  indefinite  on 
this  point,  but  any  way,  when  she  died,  it 
Was  not  long  until  he  decided  to  make  &ii 
effort  to  win  his  friend  as  a  companion  for 

61 


life,  and  so  returned  and  claimed  her  hand, 
and  they  were  marr'ed  in  1871. 

As  has  already  been  stated  he  had  eigh- 
teen children,  eight  by  his  first  wife  and 
ten  by  the  last. 

Susan  Dixon,  his  youngest  daughter  by 
the  last  wife,  was  the  mother  of  Elder 
Thcmas  Dixon  so  famous  throughout 
Cleveland  county. 

Col.  Hambright's  body  is  sleeping  in  the 
Old  Shiloh  grave  yard  near  Grover,  N.  C. 
"Numbers  of  the  other  heroes  are  sleeping 
there,  and  some  of  their  graves  are  mark- 
ed, and  some  of  them  are  not.  The  old 
church  was  sold  to  the  negroes  many  years 
ago,  and  a  colored  church  now  occupies  the 
place  where  the  old  church  stood  in  which 
Col.  Hambright  worshipped.  At  that  time, 
it  was  called  Calvary,  but  later  the  name 
was  changed  to  Shiloh.  It  is  sad  to  think 
that  the  place  has  not  been  cared  for  as  it 
should  have  been.  No  fence  encloses  the 
place,  and  but  few  stones  mark  the  graves 
of  the  bravest  men  the  earth  has  ever  pro- 
duced. The  following  inscription  is  on  the 

*I  found  a  few  graves  of  Kings  Mountain  soldiers  in 
the  Old  Long  Creek  Presbyterian  church  yard.  Tihe 
Oates,  Espys,  Blackiwoods,  Whites,  and  a  few  Patter- 
sons are  buried  there.  Several  of  these  f outfight  in  tSbe 
Battle  cf  Kings  Mountain.  Some  may  have  been  killed, 
while  others  lived  for  many  years  after  it  was  fought. 


02 


tombstone  of  Col.  Hambright; 


IN   MEMORY   OF  COL.   FREDERICK  HAMB RIGHT? 
WHO  DEPARTED  THIS  LIFE  MARCH  9TH,  1817 
IN  THE  NINETIETH  YEAR  OF  HIS  LIFE. 
ADIEU  TO  ALL,  BOTH  FRIEND  AND  FOE, 
MY  LOVING  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN  DEAR, 
FOR  MY  IMMORTAL  SOUL  IS  FLED 
AND  I  MUST  BE  NUMBERED  WITH  THE  DEAD. 

Col.  Hambright  was  an  elder  in  Shiloh 
Presbyterian  church,  and  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  learn,  was  a  very  consistent 
Christian  gentleman.  His  wife  and  his  son, 
Major  Frederick  Hambright  sleep  near  his 
side.  The  following  cuts  show  the  style  and 
location  of  their  graves. 

The  next  family  of  the  descendants  of 
the  heroes,  we  wish  to  mention  is  the  Pat- 
terson family.  This  is  a  very  noted  family, 
and  it  has  several  descendants  in  our" 
church,  and  many  of  them  in  our  town  who 
are  not  Baptist.  The  line  we  wish  to  fol- 
low is  that  of  Mrs.  G.  D.  Hambright,  who 
was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  E.  A.  Patterson, 
who  is  still  living,  though  over  eighty 
years  old.  He  is  feeble  now  but  still  has  a 
very  active  mind  and  can  tell  many  inter- 
esting things  about  the  battle  as  his  grand 
father  was  in  it  and  saw  it  all.  His  wife 
was  Barbara  Shuford. 

Mrs.  G.  D.  Hambright  is  a  daughter  of 
63 


Old  Shiloh  Cemetery  between  Battlefield 
and  Grover. 


1.  Major  Hambright's  grave.  2.  Arthur 
Patterson's  grave.  3.  Colonel  Fred  Ham- 
bright's grave.  4.  Thos.  Patterson's  grave. 


64 


E.  A.  Patterson  who  is  a  son  of  Arthur 
Patterson,  Jr.  Arthur  Patterson,  Jr.,  was  a 
sciTof '""Arthur  Patterson  who  was  caught 
by  Ferguson's  foragers  on  the  morning  of 
the  battle.  He  was  a  boy  of  fourteen  years 
at  that  time.  His  father  got  uneasy  about 
him  and  went  to  hunt  him  and  the  other 
boys  who  went  with  him.  He  found  the 
boys,  and  more  than  he  planned  to  find.  He 
found  the  Whigs  and  Tories  engaged  in 
battle.  He  went  immediately  into  the  bat- 
tle with  his  squirrel  rifie  but  was  killed  in 
the  skirmish  and  never  returned  home.  His 
body  sleeps  on  the  western  slopes  of  the 
hill  where  the  battle  was  fought.  His  name 
also  was  Arthur  Patterson. 

The  third  family  we  wish  to  mention  is 
that  of  Ira  A.  Patterson,  one  of  our  dea- 
cons, and  a  very  honorable  man.  He  was 
a  son  of  Rufus  U.  Patterson,  who  was  a 
son  of  Arthur  Patterson,  Jr.  Arthur  Pat- 
terson, Jr.,  was  the  boy  caught  by  Fergu- 
son's foragers  and  carried  to  the  camp  of 
the  British  where  he  was  held  until  the 
battle  was  in  action. 

Ira  A.  Patterson  married  Miss  Angeline 
Whitesides,  and  to  this  union  twelve  child- 
ren were  born.  Ten  of  these  are  living,  and 
two  are  dead.  The  living  are  Mrs.  Sarah 
Patterson  Falls,  Mrs.  Laura  Patterson  Mc- 
Gill,  Lee  Patterson,  John  B.  Patterson,  Ar- 

65 


thur  H.  Patterson,  Ellen  Patterson,  Rufu3 
Patterson,  Mrs.  Mae  Patterson  Beatty 
(dead),  Ray  Patterson,  Grady  Patterson, 
Mrs.  Evelyn  Patterson  Ware,  (dead),  and 
Dewitt  Patterson.  These  all  live  in  and 
around  Kings  Mountain,  except  Lee  who 
lives  near  Rock  Hill. 

Rufus  F.  Raker  is  a  member  of  our 
church  and  is  a  great  grand  son  of  Arthur 
Patterson,  Jr.  Rufus  Baker  is  a  son  of  Mrs. 
Ellen  Patterson  Baker.  Her  husband  was 
Philip  Baker.  Mrs.  Baker  was  a  daughter 
of  Arthur  Patterson,  Jr.,  who  was  a  son  of 
Arthur  Patterson,  Sr.,  who  was  killed  in 
the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain.  His  body  was 
buried  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain and  was  marked  by  a  small  stone,  but 
the  stone  was  torn  down  by  some  one  and 
the  place  has  been  lost.  His  sacred  dust  will 
have  to  sleep  unmarked  until  the  Angel  of 
the  Resurrection  shall  descend  to  wake  up 
these  mortal  bodies  of  ours  for  the  judge- 
ment morning. 

Arthur  Patterson,  Jr.,  was  born  1767.  He 
died  June  3rd,  1856,  and  his  tomb  stone 
Says  that  he  was  ninety  years  old. 

His  brother  Thomas  was  born  in  1755. 
He  died  Nov.  18th,  1803,  in  the  fifty  eighth 
year  of  his  life. 

Both  their  bodies  lie  in  the  Old  Shiloh 
grave  yard.  Their  graves  are  marked,  but 

66 


the  stones  are  getting  rather  dilapidated, 
and  their  epitaphs  are  hard  to  read. 

Arthur,  Jr.,  was  a  fourteen  year  old  boy 
when  the  battle  was  fought.  He  and  two  of 
his  brothers,  Thomas  and  William,  togeth- 
er" with  a  neighbor  boy,  James  Lindsay, 
were  on  Kings  Creek  hunting  their  fath- 
er's cows  the  morning  prior  to  the  battle 
when  some  of  Ferguson's  foragers  came 
upon  them  and  fearing  lest  they  might  tell 
where  they  were,  arrested  the  boys  and 
carried  them  to  their  camp.  They  seemed 
to  have  beenjtiedjo  trees  for  the  time  be- 
ing, but  whenThe  battle  began  they  all 
managed  to  get  loose,  and  Thomas,  who 
was  twenty  five  years  old  snatched  up  a 
rifle  that  had  fallen  from  some  wounded 
soldier's  hands  and  began  firing  at  the  ene- 
my. Arthur  was  not  old  enough  to  fight, 
and  was  bound  tighter  than  the  other  boys, 
but  he  finally  managed  to  get  loose  from 
the  tree,  and  not  being  able  to  get  his 
feet  and  hands  untangled,  rolled  down  the 
mountain  side,  ?nd  thus  got  into  our  lines. 
Several  of  our  cifzens  remember  him  and 
have  been  over  the  battle  field  with  him. 
His  body  is  sleeping  in  the  Old  Shiloh  grave 
yard  with  the  other  Patterson  boys. 

When  the  boys  failed  to  return  home, 
the  father  went  in  search  of  them,  and 
when  he  was  near  enough  to  hear  the  re- 

67 


port  of  the  guns,  he  discovered  what  was' 
taking  place,  and  went  immediately  to  the 
place  where  the  battle  was  raging  and  en- 
tered  into  it  with  all  his  might.  He  was 
slain  in  the  battle  and  his  body,  according 
to  what  one  of  his  grand  daughters  said, 
was  buried  on  the  western  side  of  the 
mountain.  A  small  stone  was  placed  at  his 
grave,  but  by  some  means  it  was  torn 
down  before  a  better  marker  could  be 
placed  there,  and  now  the  place  is  not 
known.  The  grave  of  William  Patterson  is 
not  marked,  but  is  supposed  to  be  in  the 
Old  Shiloh  grave  yard. 

The  old  Arthur  Patterson  plantation  is 
still  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  great  grand 
sons,  Mr.  Beverly  Patterson,  It  is  just  a 
few  miles  south  of  town. 

The  Logan  family  figures  very  promi- 
nently in  our  church.  This  family  descend- 
ed from  one  of  the  Kings  Mountain  heroes,, 
and  deserves  especial  mention. 

Those  of  this  family  who  belong  to  our 
church  are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  M.  Logan  and 
their  daughter,  Helen.  They  also  have  L. 
M.  Jr.,  but  he  is  not  old  enough  to  belong- 
to  the  church.  Mrs.  W.  F.  Logan  and  her 
two  sons,  Lawrence  and  Elmer,  are  mem- 
bers with  us,  and  Mattie  Logan,  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  J.  J.  Logan,  is  also  a  member.  We 
have  other  members  of  the  Logan  family 

68 


living  here,  but  they  are  members  at  Beth- 
lehem Baptist  church,  but  we  hope  they 
may  soon  become  members  with  us, 

B.  G.  Logan,  J.  J.  Logan,  L.  M.  Logan 
and  W.  F.  Logan  are  sons  of  Leonidas 
Logan,  Sr.,  and  he  was  a  son  of  John  R, 
Logan  the  historian  of  The  Kings  Moun- 
tain Association.  He  wrote  a  notable  hist- 
ory of  that  association  which  is  still  very 
valuable.  It  is  one  of  the  best  associational 
histories  that  has  ever  been  written.  It  was 
published  in  1882.  His  youngest  son,  Hugh 
Logan,  is  now  sheriff  of  Cleveland  county, 

John  R.  Logan  was  a  son  of  John  R 
Logan,  and  John  B.  Logan  was  a  son  of 
William  Logan,  one  of  the  Kings  Moun- 
tain^ heroes.  There  were  four  brothers  of 
the  Logan^family  who  fought  in  the  Kings 
Mountain  battle,  two  of  them  on  the  Amer- 
ican side  and  two  on  the  -Tory  side.  They 
who  fought  on  the  American  side  were 
William  and  Joseph  Logan.  William  Logan 
belonged  to  Captain  Mattock's  company, 
and  was  close  by  Irs  side  when  he  fell — 
the  fatal  ball  having  passed  through  a  hol- 
low dead  chesviiut  Iree.  Joseph  Logan,  the 
other  bron,?r  on  the  Whig  side  was  a  Bap- 
tist preacher,  and  during  the  engagement, 
he,  with  a  Presbyterian  preacher,  wrestled 
with  the  Lord  in  prayer,  as  in  olden  times, 
to  stay  the  hands  of  their  friends.  Thomas 

69 


Logan,  one  of  the  Tory  brothers,  had  his 
thigh  badly  broken,  he,  like  many  other 
Tories  died  without  pity  or  help  and  was 
left  on  the  field  of  battle ;  while  his  brother 
John  Logan,  was  taken  prisoner  and  after- 
wards died  a  pauper.  Draper  page  315. 

Leonidas  M.  Logan  Sr.,  married  a  Miss 
Herndon,  and  the  Herndon  family  will  be 
traced  next. 

William  Logan  married  Miss  Jane 
Black. 

The  Logans  are  very  prominent  in  many 
circles  in  Cleveland  county.  They  have 
furnished  many  leaders  in  politics  and  re- 
ligion. The  wife  of  Leonidas  Logan  Sr.,  was 
a  daughter  of  George  Herndon,  a  descend- 
ant of  Jacob  Herndon  of  Revolutionary 
fame. 

Jacob  Herndon  is  said  to  have  had 
charge  of  the  Tories  who  were  hanged  near 
Gilbert  Town  the  8th  of  October  1780. 
Thirty  two  of  the  Tories  who  had  been  so 
cruel  and  roguish  in  this  section  were 
courtmartialed  and  sentenced  to  be  hang- 
ed. They  were  given  over  to  Jacob  Hern- 
don to  be  executed.  It  is  supposed  that  he 
took  the  lead  in  executing  those  men.  They 
were  hanged  by  threes,  and  when  nine  of 
them  had  been  executed,  the  others  were 
pardoned  and  let  go.  Wheeler  says  that 
twenty  were  hanged  on  the  battle  field,  or 

70 


immediately  after  the  battle.  It  is  hard  to 
say  just  how  many  were  executed,  but  I 
am  sure  that  more  than  the  nine,  or  the 
twenty  were  executed.  Our  forces  had  no 
love  for  their  neighbors  who  took  up  arms 
against  their  own  country,  and  when  they 
had  a  chance  to  get  revenge,  they  took  it. 
Jacob  Herndon  was  only  carrying  out  his 
orders. 

Jacob  Herndon  had  a  son,  Joseph,  who 
was  a  major  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He 
commanded  the  foot  men  who  were  left  at 
Cherokee  Ford  while  the  nine  hundred  and 
ten  horsemen  went  on  to  meet  Ferguson,  at 
Kings  Mountain.  He  was  born  near  Fred- 
ericksburg, Virginia,  about  1751.  He  com- 
manded a  company  on  the  frontier  service 
in  1776;  was  the  first  county  Surveyor  and 
Trustee  of  Wilkes,  as  well  as  a  member  of 
the  County  Court.  In  1782,  1783  and  1793, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, and  1788  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  Convention.  He  was  a  noted  gun- 
smith in  his  day.  He  died  in  Wilkes  county 
the  summer,  or  autumn  of  1798. 

Joseph  Herndon  had  a  son,  John,  known 
as  Jack  Herndon.  He  was  the  father  of 
George  Herndon,  Sr.,  who  was  the  father 
of  George  Herndon,  Jr.,  and  George  Hern- 
don, Jr.,  was  the  father  of  our  members  M. 
E.  Herndon    and  P.  D.  Herndon.     M.  E. 

71 


Hernclon  is  the  cashier  of  The  People's 
Loan  and  Trust  Company  and  Plato  D. 
Herndon  runs  a  whole  sale  grocery  store. 
P.  D.  has  been  mayor  of  our  town,  and 
stands  well  in  his  community  and  M.  E. 
Herndon  enjoys  the  friendship  of  every- 
body. Both  are  married  and  have  families. 
Two  of  M.  E.  Herndon's  children  and  his 
wife  belong  to  our  church.  His  children  are 
George,  Marion  and  Hazel.  P.  D.  Hern- 
don's children  are  Allen,  Martha,  Cora, 
Julia,  and  Sarah.  All  of  them  are  small.  He 
and  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Cornelia  Floyd 
are  members  of  our  church. 

George  Herndon,  Jr.,  married  Miss  Eliza 
Bird  who  was  a  daughter  of  Monroe  Bird, 
and  he  was  a  son  of  Col.  Edward  Bird, 
whose  father  (name  jaot  known)  was  a 
noted  and  skilled  man  in  his  day.  He  aided 
our  forces  who  took  the  lead  in  the  battle 
of  Kings  Mountain.  He  it  was  who  manu- 
factured the  ammunition  for  our  men  to 
use  in  that  eventful  battle.  He  may  have 
made  arms  also.  He  was  so  skilled  that  he 
could  make  almost  anything  that  he  need- 
ed, or  that  his  country  needed. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Bird  Herndon  was  the  grand 
mother  of  the  Logans  mentioned  above. 
The  Herndons,  Logans,  and  the  Birds  were 
all  noted  in  their  day,  and  did  much  toward 
the  settlement  of  this  section  of  our  coun- 

72 


try. 

The  next  family  I  wish  to  mention  in 
this  sketch  is  that  of  the  Weirs.  Captain 
John  Weer  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1743.  He 
married.  Miss  Elizabeth  McKelvy,  and  one 
child  was  born  to  them  in  their  native 
land;  then  they  decided  to  move  to  Amer- 
ca.  Ihey  settled  near  the  present  Buffalo 
bridge  on  the  highway  leading  from  Kings 
Mountain  to  Shelby.  His  old  house  is  still 
standing,  and  is  in  very  good  condition.  He 
spelled  his  name  Weer,  but  since  his  day 
the  spelling  has  some  what  changed. 
Some  have  it  Weir,  and  others  have 
it  Ware,  but  the  original  name  was 
Weer.  I  have  searched  the  records  to  find 
the  orignal  way  and  found  it  spelled  as 
mentioned  above,  Weer.  Captain  John 
Weer  was  thirty  seven  years  old  when  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain  was  fought. 
When  he  heard  of  the  battle  he  mustered  a 
company  of  his  neighbors  as  quickly  as  he 
could  and  went  immediately  to  the  place  of 
action,  but  was  too  late  to  help  whip  the 
foe.  He  was  not  too  late  to  render  great 
assistance  to  our  forces,  as  they  needed  so 
much  help  to  care  for  the  wounded  and  the 
dying,  not  only  among  our  forces,  but 
among  the  British  and  the  Tories,  and  yet 
the  Tories  were  not  cared  for  very  much. 
Many  of  them  died  on  the  battle  field  for 

73 


lack  of  attention.  Captain  John  Weer  and 
his  men  did  much  to  help  our  men  to  get 
things  ready  for  their  departure.  He  had 
the  true  American  spirit,  but  was  not  quick 
enough  to  see  the  greatest  fight  the  sun 
ever  shone  upon,  yet  we  must  recognize 
him  as  one  of  the  heroes.  He  did  what  he 
could,  and  possibly  rendered  a  more  profit- 
able service  than  he  could  have  done  if  he 
had  gotten  there  in  time  to  take  part  in  the 
battle. 

Captain  John  Weer  lived  thirty  nine 
years  after  the  battle  and  died  September 
4th,  1819  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy  six 
years.  His  wife  preceded  him  by  three 
years,  she  having  died  April  11th,  1816,  be- 
ing sixty  seven  years  old.  They  lie  side 
by  side  in  the  original  Pisgah  grave  yard 
a  few  miles  south  east  of  Kings  Mountain. 
When  they  were  buried  there,  the  old 
church  had  not  been  moved,  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  they  were  Associate  Reformed 
Presbyterians,  and  that  they  attended 
church  at  Old  Pisgah.  Several  other  Weers 
are  buried  in  this  old  church  yard.  They 
were  either  his  children,  or  his  grand  chil- 
dren, but  from  the  position  of  the  graves, 
they  must  have  been  children  of  Capt.  John 
Weer. 

Captain  John  Weer  had  four  sons,  John, 
Jr.,  Alexander,  William,  and  Thomas.  His 

74 


son,  Thomas  Weer,  had  four  sons,  William, 
Rutus,  John,  and  Thomas.  The  last  William 
Weir  was  the  father  of  our  post  master, 
S.  S.  Weir,  and  one  of  the  deacons  of  the 
First  Baptist  church.  Brother  S.  S.  Weir 
and  his  family  have  been  members  of  our 
church  for  many  years.  We  do  not  have 
but  three  of  them  at  present,  S.  S.  Weir  and 
wife,  and  W.  T.  (Ted)  Weir.  His  youngest 
son,  Samuel,  is  a  boy  ten  or  twelve  years 
old,  but  has  never  made  a  profession  of  re- 
ligion. All  of  the  family  belong  to  the  Bap- 
tist denomination  except  the  baby  boy  who 
has  not  yet  settled  the  church  question, 
but  it  is  easy  to  tell  what  he  is  going  to  do 
when  he  considers  the  matter  a  little  for 
himself. 

The  next  family  I  wish  to  trace  is  that 
of  the  Beattys.  Mrs.  Wright  Harmon,  a 
member  of  our  church  is  a  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Martha  Frances  Falls,  and  Mrs.  Mar- 
tha Frances  Falls  is  a  daughter  of  James 
Oliver  Beatty,  and  he  was  son  of  Francis 
Beatty,  and  Francis  Beatty  was  a  son  of 
James  Beatty,  and  James  Beatty  was  a 
/son  of  Francis  Beatty,  the  Revolution  hero. 
I  am  not  quite  sure  that  this  is  the  cor- 
rect line,  but  it  is  as  I  have  it. 

Mrs.  Ike  McGill,  one  of  our  most  loyal 
members  is  a  descendant  of  one    of  the 
Kings  Mountain  heroes.  She  is  a  daughter 

75 


of  Heratio  DeKalb  Fulton,  and  he  was 
son  of  Daniel  Asbury  Fulton,  who  was  a 
son  of  James  B.  Fulton,  of  Revolutionary 
fame.  He  was  was  born  on  January  21st., 
1765,  but  took  an  active  part  in  the  war 
although  he  was  very  young.  *  There  are 
other  members  of  the  Fulton  family  living 
here  in  our  town,  but  they  are  not  Bap- 
tist. They  are  great  church  folks,  and  take 
an  active  part  in  church  affairs,  and  are 
honorable  business  men. 

Mrs.  Ike  McGill  and  husband  are  mem  - 
bers of  our  church,  and  they  have  several 
children  who  are  members  with  us.  These 
are  George,  James,  William,  Mrs.  Wolfe, 
Ike  Jr.,  and  Mildred.  This  is  a  very  fine 
family  of  folks.  They  live  seven  or  eight 
miles  out  in  the  country,  but  they  never 
miss  church  unless  something  is  terribly 
wrong  at  home. 

The  next  family  I  wish  to  mention  is  that 
of  W.  T.  Parker.  He  and  his  three  chil- 
dren, Mrs.  Ethel  M.  Parker  Laney,  William 
G.,  and  Edna  Lucile,  belong  to  our  church. 
His  wife  is  a  member  of  the  A.  R.  P. 
church.  This  family  came  from  Revolu- 
tionary stock.  Brother  Parker  has  been 
married  twice.  His  first   wife   was  Miss 

•These  are,  Williaiml  Fulton  who  runs  a  dry  goods 
store,  H.  T.  Fulton  who  is  our  courteous  undertaker, 
and  Charlie  Pulton  wiho  has  charge  of  the  street  force. 

76 


Alice  M.  Sepoch.  Two  children  were  added 
to  this  union,  Ethel  and  William.  His  sec- 
ond wife  was  Miss  Sarah  E.  Ware.  One 
child  has  been  added  to  this  union,  Lucile. 

W.  T.  Parker's  father  and  mother  were 
Robert  G.  Parker  and  Rachael  Fulton  Par- 
ker. 

His  grand  father  and  mother  were  John 
L.  Parker  and  Annie  Whitesides  Parker. 

On  his  mother's  side  of  the  house,  James 
Fulton  was  his  grand  father,  and  Jane 
Kernon  Fulton,  his  grand  mother. 

His  great  grandfather  was  Theodore  D. 
Fulton  and  Bettie  Parker  Fulton.  James 

B.  Fulton  was  his  great  great  grandfather, 
and  was  a  hero  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

William  G.  Parker  was  the  first  young 
Baptist  to  suggest  the  idea  of  an  Associa- 
tional  B.  Y.  P.  U.  and  was  elected  the 
first  president.  The  following  is  his  cut.  He 
is  now  a  student  at  Furman  University. 

The  next  family  I  wish  to  mention  in  the 
Revolutionary  line  is  that  of  the  Carpen- 
ters. We  have  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon  Carpen- 
ter, Mrs  Daisy  Carpenter  Long,  Clarence 
E.  Carpenter,  our  present   church  clerk, 

C.  Troy  Carpenter,  and  Miss  Fannie  Car- 
penter in  our  church.  Their  mother,  Mrs. 
A.  P.  Carpenter,  is  still  living  and  is  one  of 
our  most  loyal  members.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Peter  P.  Hoke  and  Faith 
Goforth  Hoke. 

77- 


WILLIAM  G.  PARKER 


78 


Faith  Goforth  Hoke  was  a  daughter  of 
William  Goforth  and  Jane  Houser  Go- 
forth,  and  William  Goforth  was  a  son  of 
Preston  Goforth  and  Mary  Ann  Beatty 
Goforth. 

Preston  Goforth  was  a  son  of  Preston 
Goforth,  Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  Nancy  Potts 
Goforth.  Preston  Goforth  was  born  1740, 
and  died  1836. 

Preston  Goforth  assisted  in  establishing 
American  independence  acting  as  a  private 
under  Col.  Hampton  in  the  Battle  of  Kings 
Mountain. 

The  last  family  I  shall  mention  is  that  of 
the  Hughes.  We  have  the  following  mem- 
bers from  the  Hughes  family;  Mrs.  W.  G. 
Hughes,  Nevett,  Marie,  Victoria,  Louise, 
and  some  of  their  married  children  who  be- 
long to  the  Baptist  denomination,  but  they 
do  not  belong  at  Kings  Mountain.  This  is 
a  very  noble  family  I  am  proud  of.  They 
are  descendants  of  Captain  Joseph  Hughes 
who  won  for  himself  a  glorious  name  noc 
only  at  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  but 
on  many  more  occasions.  He  it  was  who 
saved  the  day  at  Cowpens  by  out  running 
his  men  several  times  and  turning  them 
back  when  they  had  stampeded  and  were 
running  away  from  the  enemy  as  fast  as 
they  could.  He  was  as  brave  as  a  lion  and 
as  fleet  footed  as  a  hart.  He  was  a  physical 

79 


giant,  and  his  chivalry  was  as  noticeable  a3 
his  daring. 

Captain  Joseph  Hughes  was  born  in 
Chester  county,  South  Carolina,  in  1761* 
He  was  just  nineteen  years  old  when  the 
Battle  of  Kings  Mountain  was  fought,  but 
he  was  mature  enough  to  be  a  real  soldier* 
and  filled  an  important  place  in  Colonel 
William's  brigade  of  South  Carolina  men, 
He  had  several  very  narrow  escapes,  but 
was  never  severely  wounded  and  lived  to 
be  nearly  seventy  four  years  old.  He  died 
in  Alabama  in  1834.  His  last  days  were 
very  quiet  and  Godly.  The  fierceness  of  his 
youthful  days  left  him  and  he  became  as 
mild  as  a  lamb. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  relation  of  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  to  our  American 
civilization.  This  battle  was  not  like  many, 
just  an  accidental  skirmish,  but  one  of  the 
outstanding  events  which  marked  a  change 
in  the  whole  course  of  the  events  of  that 
day.  No  battle  has  ever  been  fought  that 
meant  more  for  civilization  than  this  one. 
Let  us  notice  what  Wheeler  has  to  say 
about  it  in  his  history  of  North  Carolina. 
"It  appear  that  under  the  auspices  of  the 
same  Divine  Power  that  so  advantageous- 
ly conducted  the  right  hand  column  of  the 
Whigs  to  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain, 
from  that  period  good  fortune  seemed  to 

80 


preponderate  in  every  direction  in  favor' 
of  the  common  cause  of  liberty  (except  the 
single  instance  of  General  Gates,  who  wag 
defeated  by  his  own  imprudence),  for  al- 
though the  British  army  kept  the  battle- 
ground at  Guilford  Court  House,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  given  up  on  both  sides,  that 
the  Americans  had  the  best  of  the  Whig^ 
after  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  with 
What  inevitably  would  have  been  their  sit- 
uation in  case  Ferguson's  army  had  gained 
as  complete  a  victory  over  the  Whigs,  a£ 
the  Whigs  had  done  over  them,  it  must  ap- 
pear that  said  battle  was  the  most  decis- 
ive, the  most  gloriously  fought,  and,  al- 
though few  in  numbers,  was  of  the  great- 
est importance  of  any  one  battle  that  was 
ever  fought  in  America/'  Wheeler  History 
of  North  Carolina  page  106. 

This  battle  has  been  passed  by  too  care- 
lessly by  many  of  our  noted  men.  I  am  not 
hunting  honor  for  those  who  fought  in 
that  battle,  but  I  am  trying  to  correct 
American  history  and  place  honor  where 
honor  is  due.  No  army  ever  fought  like  the 
one  that  climbed  the  rugged  heights  of 
Kings  Mountain,  and  no  men  ever  had  a 
more  noble  motive  to  prompt  them  in  an 
action  than  those  who  fought  at  Kings 
Mountain.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  church 
folks.  (See  Foote's  Sketches  of  North  Car- 

81 


olina,  page  271.)  "Besides  Shelby,  who  be- 
came religious  before  his  death,  and  Wil- 
liams, who  was  so  much  beloved  as  elder, 
it  is  the  tradition  that  two  of  the  other  of- 
ficers were  elders  in  the  Presbycerion 
y  church."  It  has  already  been  stated  that 
\  Elder  Joseph  Logan  was  a  noted  Baptist 
preacher,  and  that  he  prayed  while  the 
battle  was  in  action.  The  majority  of  those 
who  fought  in  that  battle  were  of  Scotch 
Irish  ancestry.  This  says  that  they  were 
among  the  most  sturdy  citizens  of  our 
country. 

But  why  was  this  battle  such  an  impor- 
tant one?  Was  it  not  because  our  Ameri- 
can cause  hinged  on  it?  Suppose  our  men 
had  failed  in  this  attempt?  What  would 
have  been  the  results?  It  is  hard  to  say 
just  what  might  have  been  the  results,  but 
when  we  think  of  the  conditions  as  they 
were  before  this  battle,  and  then  see  them 
after  the  battle,  it  is  hard  to  say  what 
might  have  been  the  case  had  we  failed. 
The  armies  in  the  north  were  quiet  at  this 
time.  Cornwallis  had  his  eyes  on  the  south. 
South  Carolina  was  practically  under  Brit- 
ish control.  Cornwallis  had  begun  to  estab- 
lish civil  government  all  over  that  state.  His 
chief  prison  for  our  men  who  had  been 
captured  was  at  Charleston,  and  his  head- 
quarters were  at  Charlotte.  Tarleton  had 

82 


terrorized  this  whole  section,  and  but  for 
one  man,  would  have  done  much  damage  at 
Cowpens.  Just  one  man  held  him  back  in 
that  struggle.  This  was  Joseph  Hughes,  al- 
ready mentioned  above.  Much  of  the  south, 
and  nearly  all  of  the  east  and  west  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  British,  or  the  Tories. 

Tories  were  pillaging  our  whole  country 
from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to  west. 
They  were  stealing  every  thing  they  could 
lay  hands  on,  and  were  murdering  many  of 
our  very  best  people.  Some  of  their  names 
are  notorious  yet,  and  will  never  be  for- 
gotten. It  was  dangerous  for  a  man  to 
leave  his  wife  and  children  at  home,  to  be 
away  for  a  few  hours.  He  did  not  know 
whether  he  would  find  them  alive,  or  not, 
when  he  returned.  Nearly  all  of  the  cattle 
were  stolen  ,  and  carried  either  to  Fergu- 
son's camp,  or  appropriated  to  the  needs  of 
the  Tories.  They  pillaged  all  of  the  homes 
in  which  they  thought  they  could  find 
money,  and  stole  nearly  all  of  the  silver 
ware  and  other  valuable  articles  they  could 
find  in  the  entire  country,  so  great  was 
their  destruction.  The  states  of  North  and 
South  Carolina  were  drained  to  their  limit, 
and  our  people  were  disheartened.  If  these 
men  had  not  won  this  victory  at  Kings 
Mountain,  our  freedom  would  have  been  a 
long  thm  coming;  if  ever  at  all.  What 

83 


course  would  our  men  have  persued  if  they 
had  failed  on  this  point?  They  were  hem- 
med in  on  all  sides  so  that  we  cannot  tell 
just  what  course  they  could  have  persued. 
Their  houses  had  been  burned,  their  fields 
had  been  laid  waste,  and  their  wives  and 
children  murdered.  Would  not  this  land 
have  been  full  of  highwaymen  from  east 
to  west  if  this  battle  had  not  been  fought? 

The  victory  at  Kings  Mountain  put  life 
into  the  American  cause.  Those  who  had 
given  up  hopes  of  this  being  a  free  coun- 
try, again  shouldered  their  trusty  rifles 
and  went  forth  to  fight  as  they  had  never 
done  before.  Even  their  wives  took  cour- 
age and  began  to  help  more  in  the  terrible 
struggle  they  were  engaged  in.  This  re- 
newal of  the  struggle  weakened  the  faith 
of  the  enemy  who  had  been  so  confident 
that  they  were  going  to  win,  and  Cornwal- 
lis  began  to  seek  new  quarters.  He  never 
tried  to  do  much  after  this  battle.  The 
most  he  did  was  to  get  ready  for  his  sur- 
render at  Yorktown  the  following  year. 

No  battle  wras  ever  fought  under  such 
conditions  as  this  one.  Our  men  had  no  or- 
ders from  those  in  authority.  They  did  this 
on  their  own  accord.  They  chose  their  own 
leaders,  and  they  managed  their  own  af- 
fairs, and  yet  they  were  not  outlaws.  They 
reported  what  they  had  done  to  headquar- 

84 


ters.  This  showed  that  they  were  trying  to 
build  up  a  government  where  God  could 
be  served  as  men  were  moved  to  worship 
him,  and  that  they  were  not  seeking  their 
own  honor,  but  glory  for  their  own  folks. 
This  battle  was  the  turning  of  the  tide  of 
British  oppression  and  the  tyranny  of  the, 
furious  outlaws  known  as  Tories.  If  the 
American  eagle  were  to  roost  where  he  ob- 
tained his  freedom,  it  would  not  be  over 
Qld  Liberty  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  but  its 
pinions  would  spread  over  the  little  moun- 
tain called  Kings.  There  is  where  the  price 
was  paid,  and  there  is  where  the  vital  spot 
was  touched  that  made  the  British  leave 
our  shores  forever.  There  is  where  the  vic- 
tory was  won  that  gave  us  the  greatest 
country  the  world  has  ever  known.  We 
had  more  men  killed  in  other  battles,  but 
we  never  had  so  few  to  do  so  much  in  so 
little  time.  The  real  spirit  of  liberty  was 
manifested  here  as  no  where  else  in  the 
entire  war ;  and  may  we  not  say,  that  to 
those  who  fought  there  we  are  indebted 
for  cur  civilization  and  our  religious  liber- 
ty? Those  noble  fellows  who  fought  there 
did  more  than  they  all.  A  statue  of  every 
one  of  them  ought  to  be  in  the  Hall  of 
Fame  at  Washington.  But  they  did  not 
fight  for  glory.  They  fought  to  save  their 
Country     from   oppression   and  British 

85 


tyranny.  They  fought  that  we  might  have 
a  country  where  we  could  serve  God  ac- 
cording to  our  own  ideas  of  the  teachings 
of  the  Book. 

If  we  could  get  our  congressmen  to  con- 
sider this  battle  as  they  should,  they  would 
make  a  park  out  of  the  battle  field,  and 
would  place  markers  around  there  on  those 
hill  sides  where  the  noblest  deeds  man  ever 
committed  took  place.  It  would  mean  so 
much  to  those  who  visit  that  place  from 
year  to  year  to  know  just  where  the  dif- 
ferent officers  had  their  men  stationed,  and 
then  too,  it  would  be  worth  so  much  to 
know  just  how  the  approach  was  made. 
There  ought  to  be  an  iron  fence  around 
the  battle  field,  and  a  man  who  knows  all 
about  the  battle  ought  to  be  kept  there  to 
tell  those  who  visit  the  place  how  it  was 
fought.  Bunker  Hill  and  Yorktown,  Ala- 
mance and  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  are  not 
half  so  important  as  this,  but  this  place 
has  never  been  honored  as  they  have  been. 

We  still  have  many  souvenirs  of  that 
battle,  but  they  will  soon  be  gone  if  some- 
thing is  not  done  before  long.  In  1880  a 
splendid  monument  was  unveiled  in  honor 
of  our  noble  men  who  fought  there;  and 
another  was  unveiled  in  1909.  But  these  do 
not  give  the  place  the  honor  it  deserves. 
In  1815,  the  people  of  this  section,  and  pas- 

86 


sibly  others  met  there  and  erected  a  small 
monument  at  the  graves  of  our  men  who 
were  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  save 
that  of  Arthur  Patterson  who  was  buried 
much  farther  up  the  hill  The  bones  of  the 
soldiers  were  also  buried  at  this  time,  and 
some  honor  was  paid  the  memory  of  those 
noble  fellows.  The  following  inscription 
was  carved  on  east  side  of  the  first  stone 
to  be  erected  there; 

SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MAJOR  WILLIAM 
CHRONICLE  AND  CAPTAIN  MATTOCKiS,  WILLIAM 
R  ABB  AND  JOHN  BOYD,  WHO  WERE  KILLED  AT 

THIS  PLACE  ON  THE  7TH.  OF  OCTOBER.   17  8  0, 
FIGHTING  IN  DEFENCE  OF  AMERICA. 

Long  since  this  stone  has  been  so  defac- 
ed that  the  above  inscription  could  not  be 
read,  but  another  nicer  stone  has  been 
erected  beside  it  with  the  original  inscrip- 
tion on  it.  These  two  stones  have  been  en- 
closed in  a  nice  iron  fence  set  in  cement, 
but  it  too,  has  been  terribly  abused  by 
those  who  visit  this  place  from  time  to 
time.  Other  stones  ought  to  be  placed 
there,  and  then  there  ought  to  be  a  liberal 
reward  offered  for  those  who  abuse  these 
markers  in  any  way,  and  when  they  are 
arrested  and  convicted,  they  ought  to  have 
a  heavy  penalty  imposed  upon  them  for 
such  devilish  work. 

87 


Another  thing  that  ought  to  be  done  by 
all  means  is  the  building  of  a  good  road  to 
the  battle  field.  The  road  is  very  bad  in 
the  rainy  season  of  the  year.  This  makes 
it  very  hajd  for  people  to  visit  the  place 
during  the  winter  months,  and  in  fact,  al- 
most any  time.  The  roads  are  rough  at 
best,  and  it  is  real  hard  for  those  who 
wish  to  visit  the  place  to  get  there.  A  jit- 
ney line  ought  to  be  established  from 
Kings  Mountain  to  the  battle  field,  and  a 
jitney  run  there  daily.  This  would  mean 
much  to  this  town  and  the  battle  field  as  a 
notable  place.  Let  us  hope  that  some  day 
we  may  have  honor  bestowed  where  honor 
is  due. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  or  done  to  hon- 
or those  who  fought  and  died  upon  that 
field.  The  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  is  a 
challenge  to  every  citizen  of  this  country. 
It  challenges  us  to  support  the  freedom 
those  men  who  fought  there  gave  their 
lives  to  secure.  Their  blood  cries  to  us  from 
the  very  ground  upon  which  it  was  spilt  to 
keep  and  inviolate  the  principles  of  our 
American  government,  and  not  to  allow 
foreigners  and  anarchists,  demigogues  and 
bloodthirsty  politicians  to  overthrow  our 
glorious  American  institutions.  Keep  state 
and  church  separate,  and  do  not  allow  the 
day  to  dawn  when  the  Bible  shall  not  be  a 

DO 
OO 


Rule  for  Faith  and  Practice  in  America. 
Do  not  allow  the  scientist  to  dig  down  into 
his  imaginary  earth  and  find  imaginary 
forms  of  life  that  the  Bible  says  nothing 
about,  and  thereby  set  the  Bible  aside,  but 
let  the  Bible  stand  if  all  of  the  theories 
of  the  imaginative  mind  go  unnoticed  for- 
ever. Let  the  American  flag  wave  over 
every  school  house  in  America,  and  let 
every  one.pf  them  be  a  cradle  of  liberty. 

Their  blood  is  a  challenge  to  us  to  keep 
sacred  the  ballot  box  of  the  American  gov- 
ernment. Let  it  never  be  made  a  gambling 
pit,  or  a  place  of  robbery  and  fraud,  but 
let  it  be  the  place  where  every  American 
citizen  can  exercise  his  franchise  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 

It  is  a  challenge  to  us  to  keep  the  old 
idea  of  the  American  home  life  free  from 
all  danger.  But  how  we  have  forgotten 
this  important  principle.  America  is  as  her 
homes  are.  If  the  home  fires  burn  but  dim- 
ly, our  American  institutions  are  not  rev- 
ered as  they  should  be.  Keep  the  home 
fires  burning  and  our  government  is  safe 
from  the  foreign  foe. 

Their  blood  is  a  challenge  to  us  to  re- 
spect our  state  rights,  and  the  rights  of 
individuals.  They  not  only  fought  for  gen- 
eral liberty,  but  they  fought  for  personal 
liberty  as  well.     Their  liberties   were  in- 

S3 


fringed  upon  by  the  Tories  who  were  pil- 
laging the  entire  country  from  north  to 
south. 

Their  blood  is  a  challenge  to  us  to  live 
clean  lives  with  which  to  honor  God  and 
our  country.  If  they  had  not  been  real  men 
physically,  they  could  never  have  borne 
what  they  did  that  day.  They  were  real 
men  in  every  way,  and  they  will  live  for- 
ever because  they  were. 

The  following  little  poem  written  by  Mrs. 
Emma  Austell  (a  daughter  of  the  first 
Baptist  to  live  in  Kings  Mountain)  largely 
expresses  the  spirit  of  that  day  at  Kings 
Mountain.  I  am  giving  it  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  do  not  know  just  how  the  peo- 
ple of  this  section  feel  about  that  notable 
victory  that  was  won  at  Kings  Mountain 
October  7th.,  1780.  Read  the  following  lines 
carefully,  and  then  stop  and  think  for  just 
a  little; 

AT  KINGS  MOUNTAIN. 

Stately  dost  thou  stand,  old  Mountain 
Mountain  of  Heroic  fame, 

Clothed  with  many  deeds  of  Valor  i  I 

Since  the  British  forces  came. 

Yes,  the  British  mixed  with  Tories 

Trying  to  conquor  man  and  God. 

Rushed  with  all  their  beastlike  fury 

But  now,  they're  lying  1neath  the  sod, 

At  Kings  Mountain. 

90 


Trusting  God  to  win  the  victory 

Americans  knew  not  the  word  defeat 

So  when  Ferguson's  approach  was  heralded 

Their  spirit  was  roused  to  tensest  heat. 

From  almost  every  little  crevice 

Our  brave  men  stood  boldly  up  to  look 

And  listen  to  their  leader's  orders, 

"Catch  them,  men,  from  every  nook 

At  Kings  Mountain. 

"They're  all  cowards",  says  Isaac 

Shelby;  my  men  you  plainly  see, 
If  not  for  Independence  they  would  light. 
We  have  beaten  them,  before, 
And  listen  to  me, 

We'll  beat  them  again  before  the  night! 
By  example  you'll  know  what  to  do, 
Let  each  be  an  officer  brave 
Fire  quick  as  you  can,  if  repulsed  try  again, 
Trust  God  who  the  day  for  us  will  save, 
At  Kings  Mountain." 

In  a  very  short  time,  the  British  attacked. 
With  guns  and  bayonets  fixed 
But  after  a  time  they  all  realized, 
That  with  brave  and  true  men  they  had  mixe 
Lo,  defying  the  God,  who  had  given  him  life, 
Ferguson  proudly  o'er  the  mountain  rode 
That  man  can't  fight  God,  he  soon  was  convin 
And  now  in  his  lasting  abode, 
At  Kings  Mountain. 

Majestically  for  centuries,  thou  hast  stood, 

old  mountain, 
In  all  thy  grandeur  and  beauty 
With  nature  bowing  at  thy  feet, 
As  tho,  awoke  to  her  duty, 

91 


May  thy  name  ever  stand  as  the 

emblem  of  faith, 
In  a  God,  who  is  grieved  with  sin, 
And  may  Americans  e'er  bow  in  reverence  to  Him, 
Who  for  them  their  freedom  did  win, 
At  Kings  Mountain. 

This  final  word  concerning  the  battle, 
visit  the  place  as  soon  as  you  can  if  you 
have  never  seen  it;  if  you  have,  visit  it 
once  more  with  some  one  who  knows  the 
topography  of  the  battle  field,  and  where 
the  forces  fought  from.  This  will  give  you 
a  different  idea  of  the  battle  and  what 
our  men  did  there  that  day.  When  you 
have  seen  it,  then  go  back  home  and  act 
your  part  like  a  true  American  citizen.  Do 
not  advocate  lawlessness  as  some  are  do- 
ing, do  not  whimper  and  whine  because  we 
have  the  eighteenth  amendment  to  our 
Constitution,  but  stand  like  a  man,  to  those 
principles  those  men  won  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain that  day.  They  did  their  part  to  win 
freedom,  now  let  us  sustain  it. 

NOTE; — Since  [writing  the  above  a  bill  has  been  in- 
troduced in  Congress  to  change  conditions  with  the 
battle  feild.  I  do  not  know  the  nature  of  the  bill,  but 
have  Iheard  that  it  is  going  to  bring  the  nmtter  under 
the  care  of  the  government.  This  bill  was  introduced 
by  Congressman  A.  L.  Bulwinkle. 


02 


NOTE: —  I  have  clone  all  that  I "  could  to  find  the 
graves  of  the  American  soldiers  who  were  slain  in  the 
battle  of  Kings  Mountain.  I  have  inot  found  them  all, 
but  I  am  sure  I  have  found  tlhe  tmlost  of  them.  They 
were  buried  in  the  Old  ,Shiloh  graveyard  near  Grover, 
Old  Long  Creek  grave  yard  near  Kings  Mountain,  and 
Old  Brittain  grave  yard  near  Rutherfordton.  The  last 
mentioned  is  near  Gilbert  Town.  Gilbert  Town  was  head- 
quarters for  our  men  for  sometime  before  and  after  the 
battle.  Several  of  the  officers  wlho  served  in  the  battle 
were  buried  at  Old  Brittain.  Among  these  are  Lieu. 
Thos.  McCulLough  and  Major  Patrick  Watson.  Major 
Wat  son  was  the  officer  who  had  charge  of  the  footmen 
wlfoo,  were  left  behind  while  the  horse  imjen  went  on  to 
attack  Ferguson  at  Kings  Mountain.  Six  other  soldiers 
who  were  killed  at  Kings  Mountain  were  buried  in  the 
Old  Brittain  grave  yard.  There  may  be  others  buried 
there,  but  there  cannot  be  very  many  more  as  there 
were  not  but  twenty  eight  killed  in  tlhie  battle.  Possibly 
several  died  of  wounds  received  in  the  battle.  The  Old 
Brittain  grave  yard  is  interesting.  It  contains  about 
twenty  acres  of  land.  m  The  Old  Brittain  Presbyterian 
chuifcli  was  organized  1751,  and  the  first  house  of  wor-  > 
ship  was  completed  August  8,  1758.  Tlhe  following 
eipitaph  is  on  the  tombstone  of  Lieu.  McCulliough.: 

"Here  lies  the  body  of  Lieu.  Thos.  McCulliough,  be- 
longing to  Col.  Campbell's  Regiment,  Va.,  who  lost  his 
life  in  and  for  tlhe  honorable,  just  and  righteous  cause 
of  liberty  at  the  defeating  of  Col.  Ferguson's  infamous 
company  of  bandits  at  Kings  Mountain  in  October  7, 
1780." 

93 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  TO  LIVE  IN 
KINGS  MOUNTAIN. 

Where  She  Was  Reared,  Her  Parents, 
When  She  Was  Converted,  Her  First 
Church  Relations,  By  Whom  Baptised, 
When  She  Married,  When  She  Decided  To 
Move  To  Kings  Mountain,  Her  Member- 
ship Moved  to  Bethlehem  Baptist  Church, 
Her  Loyalty  To  The  Baptist  Faith. 


The  first  citizens  of  this  town  were  not 
Baptists.  The  most  of  them  were  either 
Lutherans,  or  Associate  Reformed  Presby- 
terians. The  upper  part  of  Cleveland  coun- 
ty is  nearly  solid  Baptist,  but  the  eastern 
section  is  not.  Pisgah,  an  old  Associate  Re- 
formed Presbyterian  church,  is  located  just 
across  the  line  near  Linwood,  and  they  tell 
me  that  another  older  A.  R.  P.  *church 
was  still  nearer  Kings  Mountain,  and  that 
Pisgah  and  Kings  Mountain  are  both  chil- 
dren of  it.  Any  way,  this  church  has  had  a 
wonderful  influence  over  this  section,  and 
has  made  it  hard  for  other  denominations 
to  get  a  foot  hold  here.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  regard  to  Baptists.  They  are  so  un- 

*  Pisgah  is  tine  original  name.  It  was  moved  to  its 
present  location  many  years  ago. 

94 


like  other  people  that  it  is  hard  for  theiri 
to  get  a  start  when  they  have  no  member^ 
to  begin  with.  This  was  the  case  with  the 
beginning  of  the  work  in  Kings  Moun- 
tain. For  several  years  there  was  not  a 
single  Baptist  in  this  town.  The  nearest 
Baptist  church  was  Bethlehem,  which  is 
four  miles  south  west  from  here.  Patter- 
sons Grove  wr,s  organized  later,  but  it  is 
not  as  old  as  our  town.  Antioch,  near  Grov- 
er,  is  still  older  than  Bethlehem,  but  these 
are  all  out  in  the  country  and  a  few  miles 
out  in  the  country  makes  it  hard  for  folks 
who  live  in  a  town  to  attend  services.  Such 
was  the  case  with  the  first  Baptists  who 
lived  here.  But  they  had  a  real  beginning 
here.  It  is  so  strange  how  the  Lord  uses 
his  servants.  Is  it  not  strange  how  he  can 
use  the  weakest  of  us?  Nearly  ail  of  us 
think  that  a  church  must  have  some  noted 
person  to  make  a  good  beginning;  that  it 
must  have  some  noted  preacher,  or  Christ- 
ian worker,  but  it  is  not  so.  The  Lord  and 
one  of  the  humblest  of  his  servants  can 
put  things  to  going  which  time  cannot 
stop.  Such  was  the  ease  with  the  beginning 
of  the  church  at  Phillipi.  Just  one  lonely 
woman  who  loved  the  Lord  was  enough  to 
begin  that  notable  church  with.  She  loved 
her  Lord,  and  showed  that  she  did  by  do- 
ing all  that  she  knew.  She  could  pray,  and 

95   


she  could  hold  a  simple  service  for  her  ser- 
vants and  those  who  lived  with  her  and 
were  associated  with  her  in  business. 

*One  lonely  crippled  Baptist  woman  was 
the  person  the  Lord  used  to  plant  the  Bap- 
tist cause  in  Concord,  N.  C.  She  was  alone 
for  forty  years,  but  finally  the  Lord  gave 
her  help  and  she  began  a  church.  Cleve- 
land county  raised  the  boy  whom  God  call- 
ed to  go  there  to  do  the  first  Baptist 
preaching.  This  boy  was  raised  in  Shelby 
near  the  place  where  the  South  Shelby 
Baptist  church  stands.  This  was  G.  Pleas- 
ant Bostic.  The  old  sister  whom  God  used 
to  begin  Baptist  work  with  in  Concord 
said,  when  she  first  saw  Brother  Bostic, 
that  she  prayed  for  him  before  he  was 
born.  Other  places  have  had  just  such  be- 
ginnings and  such  was  the  case  here.  Near 
Dallas,  North  Carolina,  in  the  home  of  a 
humble,  God-fearing  man,  God  raised  the 
person  whom  he  was  to  appoint  to  make  the 
beginning  for  the  Baptists  in  this  town. 
She  was  born  August  19,  1846.  Her  parents 
were  John  and  Elizabeth  Friday  Smith. 
Frances  Lucinda  Smith  was  the  youngest 
child  of  the  family. 

She  attended  church  at  Old  Long  Creek, 
one  of  the  oldest  churches  in  the  state.  No 

*01d.Mrs.  iStowe  who  lived  in  the  little  stone  house  on 
Main  Street,  as  ycu  go  towards  BosVs  Mihs8 

96 


one  knows  just  how  old  it  is.  There  are 
tombstones  in  the  church  yard  which  date 
back  to  1728,  and  possibly  one  has  1725  on 
it.  It  must  be  a  very  old  church,  as  it  is 
surrounded  by  an  old  settlement.  Any  way 
the  woman  we  are  telling  about  was  raised 
to  go  to  that  church,  and  it  was  there  that 
she  found  the  Lord  precious  to  her  immor- 
tal soul.  She  professed  faith  in  Christ  at  a 
very  early  age,  and  was  baptised  into  the. 
fellowship  of  that  church  by  Elder  Jacob 
Cansler.  Elder  Cansler  was  one  of  the  first 
graduates  of  our  State  University,  and 
while  he  had  been  raised  a  Lutheran,  he 
was  converted  and  became  one  of  the  most 
uncompromising  Baptist  this  country  has 
ever  produced.  He  was  known  and  dread- 
ed, by  every  pedobaptist  in  this  whole  sec- 
tion of  country.  He  it  was  who  baptised 
Rev.  T.  J.  Taylor  who  has  been  pastor  at 
Warrenton  for  nearly  forty  years.*  He  also 
baptised  the  author's  mother,  and  many 
more  faithful  servants  of  the  Lord  who 
wanted  to  honor  him  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment way.  His  life  then  has  been  transmit- 
ted to  this  section  through  the  life  of  the 
woman  he  baptised  when  she  was  only  a 
child. 

No  one  can  tell  how  far  reaching  their 

*Dr.  T,  |J_  Taylor  passed  away  during  the  spring  of 
1926, 


97 


influence  is  going  to  become.  Just  this  one 
faithful  preacher  of  the  gospel  planted  the 
seeds  of  loyalty  to  God's  word  in  the  heart 
of  the  noble  woman  we  are  telling  about 
and  caused  the  town  of  Kings  Mountain  to 
have  a  Baptist  church. 

She  spent  her  childhood  in  Dallas,  North 
Carolina,  where  other  very  notable  Baptist 
have  been  reared.  Her  father  seems  to 
have  died  before  she  was  well  grown,  and 
then  she  went  to  live  with  her  sister,  Mrs. 
John  Rudasill  of  Lincoln  county.  She  re- 
mained with  her  sister  until  she  married 
Mr.  George  W.  Cornwell  of  the  same  coun- 
ty, January  14th.,  1875.  Some  time  after 
she  married,  she  and  her  husband  moved 
to  Kings  Mountain  where  she  resided  until 
she  passed  over  to  the  land  beyond  the 
skies. 

She  was  the  mother  of  seven  children, 
Three  of  these  died  in  infancy,  and  one,  the 
oldest  daughter,  who  was  Mrs.  A.  T.  Brid- 
gers,  died  in  1906. 

The  surviving  children  are  Mr.  C.  T< 
Cornwell,  who  lives  in  Kings  Mountain  and 
is  a  member  of  our  church,  Mrs.  Emma  C. 
Austelle,  who  also  lives  here  and  takes  care 
of  her  father,  and  is  also  a  member  of  our" 
church.  The  other  child  is  Mrs.  J.  B, 
Youngblood  who  now  lives  in  Durham, 
North  Carolina* 

98 


She  has  nine  grand-daughters  living  and 
two  dead.  She  also  had  one  great-grand 
son,  the  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Archie 
Saunders.  He  is  also  dead. 

Sometime  after  Mrs.  Cornwell  moved  to 
Kings  Mountain  she  moved  her  member- 
ship from  Old  Long  Creek,  near  Dallas,  to 
Bethlehem  Baptist  church.  As  has  already 
been  stated,  this  was  her  nearest  Baptist 
church,  and  to  show  her  real  Baptist  blood, 
she  moved  her  membership  here  and  it  re- 
mained here  until  February  15th,  1890, 
when  she  called  for  it  to  organize  the  First 
Baptist  church  at  Kings  Mountain. 

She  was  the  only  Baptist  here  for  some- 
time, and  all  was  done  that  could  have 
been  done  by  the  pedobaptists  to  get  her  to 
deny  her  faith  and  join  with  her  husband 
who  was  an  A.  R.  P.,  but  she  said  that 
some  time  God  would  provide.  Her  pedo- 
baptist  friends  told  her  that  it  could  never 
be  that  a  Baptist  church  would  be  built  in 
this  town,  but  she  said,  "Only  wait  and 
see,"  and  they  did  see  one  spring  into  exis- 
tence as  if  by  magic. 

She  not  only  saw  a  Baptist  church  or- 
ganized in  Kings  Mountain,  but  she  saw  it 
become  one  of  the  first  rank.  She  saw  the 
W.  M.  S.  organized,  and  was  active  enough 
to  become  its  first  secretary.  She  also  saw 
the  Sunday  School  work  begin,  and  took  an 

99 


active  part  in  it  for  a  number  of  years. 
Great  must  have  been  her  joy  when  all  of 
the  anxieties  of  her  soul  were  fully  realiz- 
ed. They  who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in 
joy.  Such  must  have  been  the  experiences 
of  this  noted  servant  of  God, 

She  saw  the  church  go  from  a  mere 
handful  to  a  strong  vigorous  body  of  loyal 
Baptists.  But  the  best  of  His  servants  must 
leave  us,  so  on  Thursday,  September  4th., 
1919,  her  soul  slipped  away  to  be  with  him 
who  had  stood  by  her  all  of  her  days,  but 
her  works  are  still  here  and  it  is  still  easy 
to  hear  our  folks  speak  of  "Grand  Ma 
CornwelL" 

May  her  children  and  her  grand  children 
fill  her  place  better  than  she  filled  it,  and 
may  they  too,  be  as  loyal  to  the  Baptist 
faith  as  she  was. 

The  following  lines  written  by  one  of  her 
daughters  will  not  be  out  of  place: 
To  the  Memory 
of 

My  Dear  Mother 
Frances  Lou  CornwelL 
1846-1919. 

As  the  stream  grows  calmest  near  the  tide. 
And  the  flowers  at  eventide  more  bright. 
As  the  day  sinks  on  into  the  night 
The  music  of  the  birds  is  sweetest. 
So,  as  my  Mother  grew  older,  s€e 
She  was  nearer  and  dearer  and  sweeter  to  me, 

100 


When  my  Mother  lost  her  youthfulness, 
And  her  locks  were  turning  gray, 
When  wrinkles  came  in  her  dear  face 
Then  to  myself  I'd  often  say, 
"She's  growing  old,  how  sad  to  see 
She  cannot  always  stay  with  me." 

When  my  Mother  lost  her  youthful  walk, 

And  her  eyes  were  growing  dim, 

How  oft'  she'd  smile  and  of  her  youth  talk 

And  then  of  her  faith  in  Him 

Who  always  heard  her  earnest  prayer, 

And  of  His  word,  which  was  to  her  ever  dear 

When  her  dear  old  hands  were  growing  thin 

And  her  form  began  to  bend 

Then  her  smiles  to  me  were  even  more  sweet 

Than  when  those  hands  could  lend 

For  she'd  smile  and  say, 

"How  I  wish  I  could  do  as  I  did.  ;  \ 

Now  Angels  have  borne  her  angel  form 

Beyond  the  Vale  of  Tears. 

She  did  not  fear,  Christ  went  before 

The  One  she  served  for  years. 

And  she's  resting  now  in  "The  Heaven  of  Love 

Enjoying  forever  the  City  of  Love." 


101 


CHAPTER  IV. 


EARLY  BAPTIST  BEGINNINGS  IN 
KINGS  MOUNTAIN. 

The  Second  Baptist  To  Move  To  Kings 
Mountain,  Other  Baptists  Come  Here, 
First  Baptist  Preaching  In  Old  School 
House,  Who  Did  The  First  Preaching, 
Some  Early  Baptist  Struggles,  The  Seeds 
Begin  To  Germinate,  Light  Begins  To 
Shine,  But  Very  Dimly,  Things  Are  Made 
Ready  For  The  Next  Period  of  Denomina- 
tional Development  Here. 


A  real  Baptist  is  a  wonderful  power  in 
this  world.  Just  one  is  enough  to  begin  Bap- 
tist operations  in  a  town,  or  a  community. 
Such  has  been  the  case  in  many  a  North 
Carolina  town.  I  wish  that  I  had  the  space 
to  recount  the  many  instances  where  this 
has  been  true,  but  I  cannot  do  so  here. 
Such  was  Vie  case  in  the  town  of  Kings 
Mountain.  The  first  Baptists  to  move  here 
were  real  ones.  They  had  been  tried,  and 
they  were  made  ready  for  greater  trials 
while  they  were  fighting  for  a  foot  hold 
for  Baptist  in  this  town.  It  was  not  long 
after  Mrs.  George  Cornwell  moved  here 
until  the  Lord  sent  her  a  Baptist  compan- 
ion, and  they  became  the  best  friends  this 

102 


section  has  ever  known.  The  second  Bap- 
tistjtq^  move  here  was  Mrs.  Margaret  lsa- 
belle  Nevitt  Kendrick.  Both  were  young 
women,  and  both  were  newly  married. 
Both  had  been  orphans,  and  both  had  been 
raised  in  other  homes  than  their  own.  They 
had  had  similar  experiences  in  many  re- 
spects, and  both  were  loyal  Baptist.  They 
knew  why  they  were  Baptist,  and  why 
they  could  not  sacrifice  their  principles  to 
be  with  their  husbands.  They  were  the 
kind  of  stuff  the  Lord  wanted  to  begin  His 
work  with  here. 

Margaret  Isabelle  Nevitt  Kendrick  was 
born  in  Fairfield  county,  South  Carolina, 
October  7th.,  1854.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Cornelius  and  Elisia  Nevitt  also  of  Fair- 
field, South  Carolina.  Her  father  died 
when  she  was  just  four  years  old,  and  her 
mother  died  when  she  was  about  fifteen 
years  old.  She  then  made  her  home  with 
her  half  brother,  Mr.  Joe  Nevitt.  When  she 
was  about  sixteen  years  old,  she  attended 
school  at  Anderson,  South  Carolina.  This 
place  has  always  been  noted  for  its  schools. 
It  now  has  a  most  splendid  female  college, 
which  is  only  a  continuation  of  the  school 
Mrs.  Kendrick  attended  when  she  was  a 
mere  girl.  While  in  school  at  Anderson,  she 
professed  faith  in  Christ  and  joined  the 
First  Baptist  church  there,  and  was  bap- 

103 


tised  in  Rocky  River.  Baptisteries  were  not 
much  in  use  in  this  section  of  our  country 
at  that  time.  There  were  not  many  folks 
who  wanted  to  be  baptised  in  them  any 
way.  Nearly  all  who  joined  for  baptism  de- 
sired to  be  baptised  in  running  water,  and 
as  Rocky  River  was  their  baptistery,  she 
was  baptised  in  it.  Her  membership  re- 
mained there  for  some  time. 

She  was  married  to  Mr.  John  Thomas 
Kendrick  of  Waco,  Cleveland  county, 
North  Carolina,  March  4th.,  1874.  The  new- 
ly married  couple  soon  went  to  South  Car- 
olina where  they  spent  the  first  year  of 
their  married  life.  Some  time  during  the 
year  of  1876,  they  moved  to  Kings  Moun- 
tain. The  town  was  exceedingly  small  at 
that  time.  There  were  about  a  dozen  wood- 
en houses,  here  when  they  came.  Thus  you 
can  readily  see  they  were  among  the  first 
to  become  citizens  of  this  place,  and  for 
nearly  half  a  century  they  lived  here 
among  the  people  they  loved  so  well  and 
those  who  loved  and  respected  them  as  but 
few  people  are  loved  and  respected. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  was  the  mother  of  six 
children,  five  daughters  and  one  son.  They 
are  all  living,  and  all  of  them  live  in  Kings 
Mountain  except  two,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Ware,  and 
her  only  son,  Nevitt  Kendrick.  Her  daugh- 
ters are  Mrs.  J.  B.  Thomasson  whose  given 

104 


name  is  Agnes,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Ware  whose 
given  name  is  Flossie,  Mr.  Nevitt  Ken- 
drick, Mrs.  T.  L.  Ware,  whose  given  name 
is  Sallie,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Lipford,  whose  given 
name  is  Mary,  and  Miss  Margaret  Ken- 
drick.  The  last  two  mentioned  are  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Baptist  church. 

She  has  thirteen  grand  children  living 
and  one  dead.  These  are  very  fine  children. 
We  are  proud  of  all  of  them.  She  also  has 
one  great  grand  child  living  and  one  dead. 
Her  children  are  among  our  very  best  cit- 
izens, and  command  the  respect  of  all  who 
know  them.  The  same  may  be*  said  of  the 
grand  children. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  was  a  most  wonderful 
house  keeper,  and  to  visit  her  home  was  to 
enjoy  the  warmest  hospitality  you  have 
ever  seen.  She  was  one  of  the  most  mother- 
ly women  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege  to 
know.  Her  heart  was  warm,  and  her  words 
as  kind  as  those  of  your  own  mother. 

When  Mrs.  Kendrick  moved  to  Kings 
Mountain,  she  brought  her  membership 
with  her  and  placed  it  with  Old  Bethlehem 
Baptist  church  three  miles  out  in  the  coun- 
try. This  shows  Baptist  loyalty  more  than 
anything  else.  When  Baptist  refuse  to  line 
up  with  their  denomination  where  they 
live,  there  is  usually  something  wrong. 
They  have  a  misconception    of   what  it 

105 


means  to  be  a  real  Baptist,  and  they  do  not 
know  that  they  discredit  the  work  where 
they  live.  Baptist  use  too  much  sentiment 
along  this  line.  We  all  need  to  study  what 
this  noble  woman  did,  and  then  think  what 
might  have  been  the  case  if  she  and  Mrs. 
Lucinda  Cornwell  had  left  their  member- 
ship with  their  original  churches.  There 
would  not  have  been  a  Baptist  church  here 
until  many  years  after  it  was  organized. 
They  would  have  lost  interest,  and  no  one 
would  have  agitated  the  cause  to  have  had 
Baptist  preaching  here.  But  she  was  loyal 
enough  to  bring  her  letter  and  become  a 
real  citizen  of  this  section  of  country. 

Her  letter  remained  at  Bethlehem  until 
she  called  for  it  to  join  our  church  at  its 
organization.  She  had  her  letter  granted 
at  Bethlehem  February  15th.,  1890,  and 
was  one  of  the  Baptist  to  become  a  mem- 
ber here  at  the  very  beginning.  Mrs.  Corn- 
well's  letter  was  granted  by  Bethlehem  at 
the  same  time.  They  did  not  wait  to  see  if 
the  new  church  was  going  to  live.  They 
came  in  on  the  start  to  try  to  make  it  live, 
Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter's  letter  was  granted 
at  the  same  time  also,  but  notice  of  her 
work  will  be  made  in  another  place. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  was  a  very  intelligent 
lady,  and  her  memory  was  very  clear,  es- 
pecially concerning  the  beginning  of  our 

106 


MRS.  J.  T.  KENDRICK 


107 


church  here.  I  did  not  know  Mrs.  Kendrick 
very  well,  but  the  short  acquaintance  I 
had  wich  her  was  very  pleasant  indeed.  I 
regret  so  much  that  i  aid  not  decide  to 
write  this  book  before  she  died.  She  re- 
membered so  many  thing  that  others  do 
not  know,  and  now,  we  have  to  largely 
guess  at  them.  The  author  was  real  sick 
lor  several  weeks  about  six  weeks  after  he 
took  charge  here,  and  this  sickness  was 
greatly  in  his  way.  He  did  not  get  to  learn 
many  things  he  now  needs  so  much  to 
know.  But  we  cannot  lament,  God  knew 
best,  and  we  must  submit  to  His  will. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  was  one  of  the  most  loyal 
Baptist  this  country  has  ever  produced. 
She  was  solicited  again  and  again  to  be- 
come a  pedobaptist,  but  she  flatly  refused 
as  any  real  Baptist  will  do.  Baptist  detest 
proselyting.  They  will  not  proselyte,  nor  do 
they  want  to  be  proselyted.  They  believe 
in  every  one  being  persuaded  in  their  own 
mind.  If  people  are  what  they  are  from 
honest  conviction,  they  ought  to  be  left 
alone.  Mrs.  Cornwell  and  Mrs.  Kendrick 
showed  the  people  who  proselyted  them 
that  they  knew  what  they  were  doing,  and 
that  they  were  not  what  they  were  for  pol- 
icy's sake,  but  for  Christ's  sake;  and  they 
stood,  and  they  prayed,  and  they  longed 
and  they  talked  together,    they  planned, 

108 


and  they  wept  until  the  Lord  made  it  pos- 
sible for  them  to  realize  some  of  their 
heart  felt  desires.  They  were  told  that  this 
town  could  never  have  a  Baptist  church  in 
it.  It  was  impossible  for  such  a  thing  to  be, 
but  they  said,  "Wait  and  see/'  and  they  did 
see  that  a  Baptist  church  could  be  built 
where  it  was  thought  to  be  an  utter  im- 
possibility. A  Baptist  church,  a  real  Bap- 
tist church  was  organized  here,  and  it  is 
still  alive,  very  much  alive.  Do  you  not 
think  so?  Oh,  that  we  had  many  more  Bap- 
tist like  these  two  women.  What  a  change 
we  would  have  in  so  many  homes.  Many 
are  miserable  because  they  have  sacrificed 
their  home  training  and  their  religious 
conviction  just  to  be  with  their  husbands, 
and  what  did  their  husbands  amount  to 
after  they  went  with  them?  Are  we  com- 
manded to  be  with  our  husbands,  or  are 
we  commanded  to  follow  Christ?  Settle 
this  while  you  are  reading  this  little  arti- 
cle about  one  of  the  Lord's  annointed,  one 
the  Lord  could  depend  upon.  Baptist  be- 
lieve in  soul  liberty,  not  family  religion. 
They  believe  in  the  Lordship  of  Jesus,  not 
popery.  They  believe  in  freedom  of  cons- 
cience, and  not  in  a  cramped  and  withered 
soul.  The  mother  who  went  with  her  hus- 
band one  time,  and  when  she  thought 
about  what  she  had  done,  one  day  called 

109 


her  only  son  into  the  kitchen  and  told  him 
that  his  mother  was  a  Baptist  even  if  she 
had  joined  with  his  papa.  She  stayed  in  his 
church  for  a  few  years,  but  one  day  she 
went  back  to  her  own  church  and  told  the 
brethren  what  she  had  done.  She  was  re- 
ceived back,  and  has  stayed  there  all  of 
these  years,  and  is  happy  again,  and  her 
home  is  happy.  If  you  are  happy,  your  con- 
science must  be  clear.  Is  this  not  true?  It 
most  surely  is. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  was  very  active  in  church 
work  as  long  as  she  was  able.  During  the 
last  years  of  her  life  she  was  very  much 
afflicted  and  was  not  able  to  do  very  much 
church  work,  but  she  loved  her  church  and 
was  just  as  loyal  to  it  as  she  could  be. 
While  she  was  active  she  attended  Sunday 
School  and  taught  a  class  in  it  for  many 
years.  She  was  the  first  treasurer  of  the 
Women's  Missionary  Society,  and  loved 
this  phase  of  our  work  as  long  as  she  lived. 

She  liked  to  recall  the  many  struggles 
the  Baptist  passed  through  here.  She  told 
the  author  that  she  lay  many  a  night  and 
cried  and  asked  the  Lord  to  make  it  possi- 
ble for  the  first  house  of  worship  to  be 
built  when  it  looked  as  if  the  lumber 
would  have  to  lie  on  the  ground  until  it 
rotted.  Her  prayers  and  her  words  of  en- 
couragement did  much  for  those  who  came 

110 


Rev.  G.  Pinkiiey  Hamrick  was  born  18  49  and  died 
October  15th.,  19  24.  He  was  a  Christian  gentleman  of 
t;jie  highest  type.  He  served  ic'hurches  for  forty  seven 
years,  and  during  this  tirnofe,  he  was  pastor  of  micre 
than  7,500  people.  His  pastorates  were  in,  both  North 
and  South  Carolina.  At  one  time  he  was  pastor  of  the 


First  Eaptist  church  at  Shelby,  and  was  the  first  Bap- 
tist preacher  to  ipreach  in  Kings  Mountain.  He  came 
here  without  money  and  without  price  to  plant  the 
Baptist  Standard  in  this  town.  His  wise  leadership 
meant  mufdhi  to  the  Baptist  cause  in  piedmont  North 
Carolina.  He  left  a  wife  and  two  clr'ldren,  Tlhey  live  in 
Shelby,  N.  C,  i  1  i 


REV.  Gr.  PINKNEY  HAMRICK 


here  to  take  the  lead  in  the  Lord's  work. 

She  often  referred  to  the  dark  days 
through  which  the  Baptists  had  to  pass 
here,  and  how  glad  she  was  when  a  Bap- 
tist preacher  actually  came  to  Kings  Moun- 
tain and  preached  in  the  Old  School  House, 
This  old  house  stood  near  the  place  where 
Dr.  Hord's  nice  new  residence  stands.  The 
first  preacher  to  come  here  to  hold  a  ser- 
vice was  Rev.  G.  P.  Hamrick.  I  have  not 
learned  how  many  times  he  came,  but  he 
must  have  been  here  several  times  ac- 
cording to  what  I  have  heard  the  brethren 
in  the  county  say.  Rev.  J.  M.  Bridges  was 
the  second  Baptist  preacher  to  visit  this 
place  to  preach.  He  also  preached  in  the 
Old  School  House.  He  must  have  preached 
here  regularly  for  nearly  a  year.  Those 
who  remember  him  say  that  he  came  for 
nearly  a  year.  He  was  not  appointed  by 
any  board,  but  just  came  here  because  of 
the  interest  he  had  in  the  cause.  Elders  P, 
R.  Elam  and  C.  F.  Felmet  must  have 
preached  here  also.  They  did  not  preach  in 
the  Old  School  House,  it  seems,  but  as  Bap- 
tists preached  in  their  homes  occasion- 
ally, it  is  possible  that  they  preached 
in  Rev.  Felmet's  home.  I  have  one  account 
of  such  a  service.  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway 
says  that  he  preached  in  Rev.  C.  F»  Fel- 
met's home  after  he   came   here  in  1890. 

112 


Th's  surely  was  not  the  only  time  they  did 
such  a  thing. 

Rev.  M.  P.  Matheny  was  the  last  man  to 
preach  here  before  the  church  was  orga- 
nized. The  Baptist  had  been  holding  servi- 
ces in  the  Methodist  church,  and  some 
times  they  held  them  in  the  Lutheran 
church.  No  one  seems  to  know  how  many 
times  services  were  held  in  either  of  these 
churches,  but  it  must  have  been  several 
The  Baptist  church  house  was  not  built 
for  some  time  after  the  church  was  orga- 
nized, but  they  had  services  regularly. 
They  had  no  regular  place,  except  the 
school  house. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  and  Mrs.  Cornwell  stood 
by  the  cause  through  all  of  these  trials.  It 
was  very  discouraging,  but  they  followed 
their  people  wherever  they  went.  If  it  was 
in  the  poorest  home  in  the  town,  they 
went. 

Mrs.  Kendrick  lived  to  see  the  old  fram- 
ed structure  completed,  and  then  she  lived 
to  see  it  go  out  of  date  as  did  Mrs.  Corn- 
well.  Jhey  both  lived  to  see  the  old  framed 
building  replaced  with  a  nice  modern 
brick  building,  and  they  both  saw  the 
church  grow  from  a  mere  handful  to  sev- 
eral hundred  members.  As  has  been  stated, 
Mrs.  Cornwell  had  to  pass  over  first,  then 
on  Wednesday,  April  4th.,  1925,  Mrs.  Kett- 

113 


drick  too,  had  to  pass  over  to  be  with  hei* 
old  friend  and  companion  in  faith  and  la- 
bor, and  her  Lord  she  had  honored  and 
served. 

She  died  at  the  home  of  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  J.  F.  Ware  who  lives  at  Mt.  Holly* 
She  had  gone  there  for  a  visit,  and  had 
hoped  to  return,  but  she  did  not  realize 
her  desires.  Her  body  was  brought  back  to 
Kings  Mountain  and  her  funeral  was 
preached  by  her  pastor,  Rev.  C.  J.  Black, 
assisted  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  who  had 
known  her  for  many  years,  and  her  daugh- 
ter's pastor  from  Mount  Holly,  Rev.  E.  C. 
Andrews.  A  great  bank  of  flowers  cover- 
ed her  casket  showing  the  high  esteem  in 
which  she  was  held.  The  crowd  that  gath- 
ered was  enormous,  and  many  were  the 
commendable  things  said  about  her  life 
and  work.  Her  body  sleeps  in  the  cemetery 
at  Kings  Mountain.  Her  body  is  mingling 
with  mother  earth,  but  her  works  are  still 
going  on.  They  who  live  for  Him  never  die. 
They  may  stop  breathing,  but  they  never 
die.  Their  works  keep  enlarging,  and 
growing  in  size  and  momentum  until  it  is 
impossible  to  estimate  them.  May  her  chil- 
dren and  her  grand  children  prove  to  be 
as  faithful  as  she.  She  had  to  begin  at  the 
beginning.  They  only  have  to  build  well 
upon  the  foundation  she  helped  to  lay, 

114 


MRS.  GEORGE  W.  CORN  WELL. 

Tihe  first  Baptist  to  move  to  Kings  Mountain.  She  was 
one  lot  the  foundation  stones  of  the  Baptist  cause  iii 
Kings  Mountain. 


115 


The  following  lines  written  by  Mrs. 
Emma  Austelle  express  the  friendship  that 
existed  between  Mrs.  Cornwell  and  Mrs. 
Kendrick. 

So  often  we  think  that  we  have  many  friends, 

But  when,  come  the  days  of  trial. 

There  may  be  some,  or  there  may  be  none, 

Who  will  be  with  us  when  we  are  lonesome, 

And  need  to  be  cherished  o'er  our  blue  days 

Or  aided  in  times  of  distress. 

When  we  find  one  that'll  stay 

Through  any  kind  of  day 

Then  a  true  friend  you'll  surely  witness. 

Between  our  dear  mothers  such  a  friendship  was 

Which  was  nearer  it  seemed  than  a  brothers. 

For  often  in  families  children  find  fault 

But  not  so,  where  these  two  with  each  other. 

We  children  ne'er  heard  them  speak  aught  than  the  best 

Of  the  other  who  was  their  true  friend. 

In  sunshine,  in  shadow,in  sickness,  in  health 

Midst  those  of  poverty,  or  those  of  wealth, 

Four  helping  hands  they'd  lend. 

For  the  Master  they  stood  so  strong  in  their  love 
Or  the  Church  held  by  them  most  dear. 
They'd  sing  and  they'd  pray,  'naught  could  them  dismay 
When  no  church  of  their  faith  was  here. 
When  the  cherished  time  came,  that  a  Church  by  the 
name 

Of  Baptist,  was  built  in  our  town, 
Then  the  names  of  the  two. 
Who  to  their  faith  had  been  true 
Were  the  first  on  the  roll  to  be  found. 


118 


Through  hardships  and  trials,  they  wandered  their  way 
Together,  in  home,  church,  and  town. 
When  old  age  came  their  way  this  friendship 
With  many  joys'  did  abound. 

For  through  faith  in  their  prayers,  this  small  church 

has  grown 
Into  an  edifice  of  beauty  and  might 
To-day,  together  they're  in  that  "Haven  of  Rest", 
By  their  children,  their  town,  and  their  Church  they're 

blest 

As  two  who  ever  pointed  the  way  to  the  "Right". 

I  will  now  mention  some  of  the  other 
Baptists  who  came  here  after  the  two  sis- 
ters I  have  taken  so  much  time  to  tell 
about.  The  next  after  Mrs.  Kendrick  was 
Col.  Peter  P.  Hoke.  He  came  here  about 
1881,  as  best  I  have  been  able  to  learn.  His 
wife  was  dead,  but  he  had  one  faithful 
Baptist  daughter.  He  had  two  other  daugh- 
ters, but  they  were  not  members,  or  I  can 
find  no  record  of  their  membership  here, 
or  at  Bethlehem.  Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter  is 
his  daughter,  and  has  been  faithful  to  the 
Work  through  all  of  these  years.  She  has 
never  flinched  a  single  time,  but  has  stood 
by  the  work  all  of  these  years.  She  was  in 
the  organization,  and  has  been  a  member 
of  this  church  since  that  time.  She  is  still 
active  in  church  work,  and  is  doing  all  that 
she  can  to  help  in  the  activities  of  the 
church. 

Mrs.  L.  Homesly  seems  to   have  come 
117 


here  about  the  time  that  P.  P.  Hoke  moved 
here,  or  possibly  a  little  earlier.  There  was 
not  much  difference  in  the  time  of  their 
coming.  Mrs.  Homesley  came  here  to  run  a 
hotel,  or  some  thing  of  the  kind,  any  way 
she  was  here  and  showed  that  she  was  a 
Baptist.  Gaston  Littlejohn  and  his  family 
came  here  soon  after  P.  P.  Hoke.  He  and 
his  wife,  Susan  Littlejohn,  and  their  son, 
Robert,  were  members  and  attended 
church,  as  did  all  of  those  I  have  mention- 
ed above,  at  Old  Bethlehem.  Gaston  Little- 
john was  an  uncompromising  Baptist,  and 
was  as  loyal  as  any  man  has  ever  been.  He 
loved  his  Lord  and  his  church.  I  knew  him 
well,  and  I  am  glad  that  I  knew  him.  He 
has  a  daughter  living  here  who  is  one  of 
the  most  useful  members  in  our  church. 
She  teaches  the  beginners  class  in  the  pri- 
mary department  of  our  Sunday  School. 
She  is  an  expert  at  the  business.  Her  place 
is  going  to  be  hard  to  fill  when  she  has 
to  give  up.  He  has  a  son  here  who  is  a 
faithful  member  also. 

After  Brother  Littlejohn,  others  came 
here  to  help  in  the  work.  I  do  not  know 
the  order  in  which  they  came,  but  among 
them  were  the  Baumgardners,  the  Longs, 
the  Reynolds,  other  Kendricks,  the  Cobbs, 
the  Felmets,  the  Poteats,  the  Morrisons, 
the  Dickeys.     Two  of   Brother  Dickey's 

118 


daughters  are  still  with  us.  These  are  Mrs. 
Lula  Woodward  and  Mrs.  Joe  Cole.  They 
are  as  loyal  as  members  ever  get  to  be* 
Many  more  came  a  little  later.  I  do  not 
know  the  names  of  all  of  them,  but  today ? 
wejhaye  about  one  fourth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town.  The  First  church  has 
about  one  thousand  possibilities,  and  the 
other  churches  have  a  goodly  number. 
The  little  beginning  has  become  a  mighty 
host.  At  first  the  Baptist  were  not  noticed 
very  much  but  now  they  are  noticed  and 
recognized  among  the  first. 

When  the  Baptist  began  operations  here> 
the  State  Board  did  not  recognize  them 
very  much.  Rev.  C.  Durham  was  cor- 
responding secretary  of  the  State  Mission 
Board  at  that  time,  and  as  much  as  he  was 
interested  in  the  work  in  this  state,  he 
seems  not  to  have  considered  this  point 
worth  while,  and  did  not  make  any  appro- 
priation for  it  until  several  years  later; 
that  is,  until  the  church  was  organized  and 
planned  its  church  building.  Because  of 
thisj.  the  Baptist  of  Cleveland  county  gave 
what  they  could  to  have  preaching  here. 
Brother  A.  P.  Spake  says  that  he  was  pres- 
ent several  times  at  our  fifth  Sunday  meet- 
ings, or  Union  Meetings  as  they  were  call- 
ed, when  the  matter  of  the  mission  point  at 
Kings  Mountain  was  discussed  and  collec- 

119 


tions  taken  to  pay  a  preacher  to  hold  ser- 
vices here.  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn 
just  how  long  this  was  done,  but  it  must 
have  been  ten  years  at  the  very  least  be- 
cause the  mission  board  did  not  appropri- 
ate a  cent  to  this  place  until  March  21, 
1890.  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was  the  first 
preacher  to  get  any  help  from  the  Board 
for  his  pastoral  services  here.  I  have  had 
the  records  searched,  so  I  know  that  I  am 
correct  in  my  statement  concerning  this 
one  thing.  The  organization  of  the  church 
here  must  have  been  delayed  considerably 
because  of  this  one  thing.  If  the  Board  had 
taken  the  matter  under  consideration,  it 
might  have  been  that  the  church  would 
have  been  organized  five,  or  possibly  six 
years  before  it  was.  The  Baptist  here  at 
that  time  were  poor;  that  is  they  did  not 
have  much  money.  They  lived  well,  but 
they  did  not  have  very  much  money.  The 
truth  of  it  is,  money  was  so  scarce  no  one 
had  much  to  spare.  It  was  a  hard  pull  for 
the  Baptists  of  the  state  to  raise  twenty 
five  thousand  dollars  for  state  mission  at 
that  time.  We  did  not  have  the  money  as 
we  have  it  today,  and  then,  a  worse  thing 
than  poverty  was  wrong  with  us  at  that 
time.  We  had  not  gotten  the  vision  we 
ought  to  have  had.  People  do  not  do  much 
until  they  get  a  vision,  and  the  Baptists 

120 


of  the  state  at  that  time  had  not  gotten 
the  vision  of  what  it  meant  to  evangelize 
our  state,  and  there  was  another  terrible 
malady  among  us  at  that  time*  one  we 
have  not  been  entirely  relieved  from  up  to 
this  good  hour.  I  still  see  some  very  mark- 
ed symptoms  of  it,  and  I  still  can  see  signs 
of  the  awful  pains  it  produces  on  certain  oc- 
casions. This  malady  is  known  as  old  time, 
down  right  stinginess.  It  is  an  awful  dis- 
ease when  it  gets  hold  of  Baptists.  The 
New  Testament  designates  it  as  idolatry, 
We  have  real  epidemics  of  it  occasionally, 
but  it  is  hoped  that  the  worst  of  it  is  pasL 
But  it  is  still  bobbing  up  in  our  work  when 
we  have  to  make  strong  appeals  for  help 
for  the  different  objects  we  have  to  care 
for.  However,  stinginess  was  not  the  real 
trouble  with  the  brethren  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain when  the  work  was  being  planned. 
Money  was  very  scarce  then,  and  our  folks 
were  not  rich.  They  lived  well,  as  has  been 
said,  but  they  did  not  have  much  money 
they  could  use  f  or  the  Lord's  work.  It  took 
all  that  they  cculd  get  to  provide  for  their 
families.  They  did  not  live  in  luxury  then 
as  they  do  today ;  and  to  provide  a  com- 
fortable living,  was  quite  a  task.  Cotton 
was  very  low,  and  this  says  that  wages 
were  exts^mely  low.  You  can  get  as  much 
for  a  day's  work  today  as  you  could  for  a 

121 


week's'  work  at  that  time,  and  some  can 
make  more  in  one  day  than  they  could  in  a 
week  at  that  time.  It  was  hard  for  the 
first  Baptists  to  support  a  pastor  here  at 
that  time. 

Another  thing  that  held  the  work  back  at 
this  place  was  lack  of  leadership.  They 
were  not  organized,  and  they  did  not  have 
a  real  leader  among  them.  They  had  many 
good  men,  but  they  did  not  have  a  man  who 
could  lead  them  to  undertake  such  a  great 
task  as  they  had  before  them  to  become  a 
church.  But  finally  the  right  man  came 
here  and  took  hold  of  the  work,  and  the 
church  became  a  reality.  Their  long  hopes 
were  realized,  and  the  day  was  dawning 
for  a  Baptist  church  to  be  built  in  this 
town.  Eighteen  years  of  the  town's  exist- 
ence had  passed,  and^  still  there  was  not  a 
Baptist  church.  Baptist  services  had  been 
held,  but  nothing  definite  had  been  done. 
Baptist  were  like  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd. They  were  attending  church,  as  they 
liked,  just  any  where,  and  some  not  at  all 
Their  children  were  attending  Sunday 
School  at  pedobaptist  churches,  but  this 
was  not  satisfactory.  They  could  not  ex- 
pect them  to  use  our  literature,  and  be- 
cause of  this,  they  could  not  be  taught  our 
distinctive  doctrines.  They  were  being 
taught  the  doctrines  of  the  other  denomi- 

122 


nations.  They  had  their  denominational 
literature,  they  were  expected  to  have  it, 
but  this  was  not  doing  our  children  any 
good.  They  were  drifting  toward  the  other 
folks,  but  the  day  was  dawing  for  other 
things  to  be  taught,  and  for  other  people 
to  show  their  doctrines  to  their  children, 
and  things  came  to  pass  which  were  never 
dreamed  of  when  the  Baptist  cause  was 
first  mentioned  in  this  town. 

"God  leads  in.  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 
A  great  occasion  was  just  ahead  of  the 
Baptists  of  Kings  Mountain,  and  the  fol- 
lowing chapter  will  tell  what  it  was. 


SIX  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  MEMBERS. 

These  aYe  &i  C.  Baumigard'iier,  J.  R.  Reyiiolds,  Mrst 
R.  Reyholds,  Mrs.  Henry  Poteat,  Mrs:  Gallie  Carpert- 
r,  Mrs;  Sylvanus  Mau>ney; 


124 


CHAPTER  V. 

j 

THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 
CHURCH. 

When  Organized— Where  Organized— The 
Members  Who  Were  In  The  Organization 
—The  Fmt  Pastor— The  First  Clerk— The 
First  Deacons. 


History  ought  to  be  facts,  but  it  Is  im- 
possible to  get  facts  when  you  have  no  re- 
cords from  which  to  get  them;  such  is  the 
case  with  the  history  of  the  organization 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Kings 
Mountain.  The  old  book  is  lost,  and  while 
3  careful  search  has  been  made  for  it  all 
over  this  town,  and  out  of  town,  it  cannot 
be  found,  so  the  account  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  had  to  be  gathered  from 
many  sources.  Newspaper  files  have  been 
searched,  the  memories  of  the  old  members 
have  been  tried  cut  in  every  wayyall  kinds 
of  angles  of  approach  have  been  made,  but 
the  old  church  book  still  remains  hidden, 
or  possibly  destroyed.  What  a  sad  thing  it 
is  to  think  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  the 
story  of  those  noble  deeds  of  love,  sacri- 
fice, prayer,  and  faith  that  were  made  by 
those  who  stood  by  the  work  of  the  Lord 
here  for  the  first  twelve  years,     All  th&t 

125 


can  be  found  concerning  their  work  is  ill 
the  assoeiational  minutes  of  1890,  and  all 
that  is  said  in  them  is  that  S.  J.  Poteat  and 
Col.  P.  P.  Hoke  represented  the  church  in 
the  meeting  of  the  association  at  Zion,  and 
that  they  presented  a  petition  to  that  body 
at  that  time  to  become  a  member  of  it, 
and  when  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Church 
Covenant  had  been  examined,  they  were 
found  to  be  orthodox,  and  the  church  was 
admitted.  Nothing  more  is  said  except  that 
it  had  recently  been  organized.  Now,  what 
did  they  mean  by  "recently?"  It  is  hard  to 
say,  but  from  all  that  can  be  learned  con- 
cerning the  beginning  of  the  work  here, 
the  church  must  have  been  organized  ear- 
ly in  the  spring  of  1890*  Three  things 
lead  in  this  direction.  First,  the  members 
who  came  from  Bethlehem  received  their 
letters  from  that  church  February  15th., 
1890.  So  then  the  church  must  have  been 
organized  some  time  after  that  date.  The 
second  thing  is  the  date  of  the  deed.  It  was 
made  March  21st.,  1890,  and  it  was  made 
to  Gaston  Littlejohtt  and  J.  Morrison, 
deacons  of  Kings  Mountain  Baptist  church. 
They  could  not  have  been  deacons  until  the 
church  was  organized,  So  the  church  must 
have  been  organized  near  that  time,  ov  at 
that  time.  The  third  thing  that  leads  one 
to  believe  that  the  church  was  organized 

126 


between  February  15th.,  1890,  and  March 
21,  of  the  same  year  is  the  fact  that  an 
application  for  aid  from  the  State  Board 
was  made  to  Dr.  Columbus  Durham- 
March  21st.,  1890,  and  he  appointed  Rev. 
J.  E.  McManaway  the  first  missionary  to 
this  field.  This  is  not  guess  work,  but  fact. 
Now,  with  all  of  these  threads  of  informa- 
tion before  us,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  be- 
lieve that  the  church  was  organized  on 
March  21st.,  or  near  that  time  at  least? 
The  old  folks  tell  us  that  a  meeting  had 
been  in  progress  for  several  days,  and  that 
it  closed  in  the  morning  and  the  church 
was  organized  the  following  night.  This 
meeting  was  held  by  Rev.  M.  P.  Matheny, 
and  possibly  Rev.  C.  F.  Felmet,  but  some 
think  that  McManaway  held  it  by  himself. 
This  is  the  reasonable  thing  to  believe 
about  it,  and  yet  Felmet  was  living  here  at 
that  time,  and  as  he  was  not  likely  to  have 
been  engaged  in  a  country  meeting  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  he  must  have  been  in 
the  meeting  whether  he  preached  any  in  it 
or  not.  He  encouraged  the  work  very  much 
in  the  beginning,  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
he  would  have  lived  here  and  not  aided  in 
the  work  of  such  an  important  meeting  as 
that  was.  The  meetings  was  held  in  the 
Methodist  church  which  then  stood  just  op- 
posite the  Baptist  church  and  where  the 

127 


Presbyterian  church  is  now  located.  The 
meeting  resulted  in  several  converts,  and 
best  of  all,  the  church  we  now  have.  Only 
two  males  were  converted  and  joined  dur- 
ing the  meeting.  These  were  Samuel  J.  Po- 
teat  and  Joe  R.  Reynolds.  They  were  the 
first  to  be  baptised  here.  Others  joined, 
but  they  were  young  ladies,  or  possibly 
children.  Their  names  have  not  been  secur- 
ed. 

The  presbytery  that  organized  the 
church  was  composed  of  Rev.  M.  P.  Mathe- 
ny,  Rev.  T.  H.  Mullinax,  the  marrying  par- 
son of  Grover,  Rev.  P.  R.  Elam,  and  pos- 
sibly the  deacons  of  Bethlehem  Baptist 
church. 

The  church  was  organized  with  thirteen 
male  members,  and  a  few  more  females. 
The  exact  number  of  females  cannot  be 
learned.  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  says  that 
it  was  organized  with  less  than  thirty 
members.  The  associational  letter  reported 
thirty  six  members,  but  did  not  divide  them 
so  that  you  can  know  how  many  males,  or 
females  they  had.  It  just  states  that  they 
had  thirty  six  members  September  26th  of 
that  year.  There  must  have  been  about 
thirty,  as  we  have  nearly  that  many  names 
we  know  were  in  the  organization.  As  we 
have  no  record  of  those  who  joined,  we 
cannot  say  definitely  how  many  there  was 

128 


on  the  start. 

The  male  members  were  William  Cobb, 
Gaston  Littlejohn,  J.  Morrison,  J.  C.  Baum- 
gardner,  C.  F.  Felmet,  Henry  Poteat,  J.  R. 
Reynolds,  P.  P.  Hoke,  S.  J.  Poteat,  Robert 
Long,  Thos.  Felmet,  Robert  Littlejohn,  and 
the  following  females;  Mrs.  William  Cobb, 
Mrs.  Gaston  Littlejohn,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Baum- 
gardner,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Felmet,  Mrs.  Henry 
Poteat,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Reynolds,  Mrs.  Robert 
Long,  Mrs.  Lucinda  Cornwell,  Mrs.  J.  T. 
Kendrick,  Mrs.  Sylvanus  Mauney,  Mrs. 
Sam  Cornwell.  Mrs,  Jane  Dixon,  Mrs.  Cal- 
lie  Carpenter,  and  a  few  single  girls  whose 
names  have  not  been  learned.  Possibly 
there  were  not  but  twenty  seven  or  eight 
in  the  organization,  but  thirty  six  were 
reported  to  the  association  that  fall.  Mc- 
Manaway  says  that  he  held  a  meeting 
some  time  during  the  summer,  and  if  he 
did,  it  is  probable  that  he  added  several 
more  to  the  church  before  the  meeting  of 
the  association.  He  does  not  remember  how 
many  professions  he  had,  or  how  many 
joined  the  church.  The  minutes  just  state 
that  they  had  thirty  six  members,  and  does 
not  say  who  they  were,  or  how  they  were 
secured. 

Thirty  six  years  have  wrought  some  won- 
derful changes.  Those  faithful  men  and 
women  who  undertook  such  a  stupendous 

129 


- 

task  here  thirty  six  years  ago  have  all 
passed  away  except  ten.  These  are  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  R.  Reynolds,  Mrs.  Henry  Poteat  and 
her  two  daughters,  Mrs.  S.  Mauney  and 
Mrs.  Sam  Cornwell,  S.  J.  Poteat,  J.  C. 
Baumgardner,  Robert  Littlejohn  and  Mrs. 
Callie  Carpenter. 

Who  was  the  first  pastor  of  the  new 
church?  Now,  there  is  some  question  about 
who  was  the  first  pastor.  Brother  J.  C. 
Baumgardner  says  that  Rev.  M.  P.  Mathe- 
ny  was  the  first,  but  Dr.  F.  C.  Hickson 
says  that  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was  the 
first.  If  Matheny  was  the  first,  the  church 
had  three  pastors  the  first  year.  J.  E.  Mc- 
Manaway became  pastor  the  first  of  April, 
1890,  and  preached  during  the  summer.  Dr. 
Hickson  says  that  McManaway  and 
Matheny  had  some  misunderstanding 
about  the  work  and  that  Rev.  McManaway 
resigned  before  the  year  was  out.  How- 
ever, this  may  have  been,  McManaway  be- 
gan work  here  the  first  of  April,  1890,  and 
preached  here  for  a  few  months,  then  re- 
signed. He  says  that  one  of  the  brethren 
made  it  hard  for  him  and  he  resigned  be- 
cause of  this-.  He  surely  remembers  what 
he  left  for,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  more 
about  this  part  of  the  story.  If  Matheny 
was  the  first  pastor,  he  certainly  did  not 
serve  long  after  the  church  was  organized, 

130 


and  when  the  church  was  organized,  he 
gave  way  for  the  other  man.  Anyway,  he 
did  a  noble  work,  and  ought  to  have  re- 
mained here  for  several  months  after  the 
church  was  put  on  its  feet 

When  McManaway  left  the  church  it  was 
in  a  dreadful  condition.  The  members  were 
few  and  very  weak  and  unorganized.  They 
had  their  house  hulled  in,  but  they  did  not 
know  how  to  manage  a  church  as  it  should 
have  been  managed* 

The  State  Board  was  spending  forty  dol- 
lars^ a  year  on  the  work,  and  this  was  two 
fif  ths  of  the  pastor's  salary.  It  was  respoh- 
sible  for  The  service  the  church  was  due  to 
have,  so  when  McManaway  resigned,  Dr. 
Columbus  Durham  wrote  Dr.  F.  C.  Hick- 
son  who  was  then  pastor  at  Gastonia  to  go 
over  to  Kings  Mountain  and  see  what 
could  be  done  for  the  little  struggling 
church,  so  he  preached  on  week  nights  and 
Sunday  afternoons  the  remainder  of  the 
year  and  after  the  association,  gave  more 
time  to  the  work.  Dr.  Hickson  did  much 
good  here.  He  was  a  wonderful  preacher, 
and  a  most  wonderful  scholar.  He  has 
Ravelled  extensively,  and  is  an  interesting 
speaker.  He  commanded  the  respect  of  the 
other  denominations,  and  drew  large 
crowds  io  hear  him.  He  preached  in  the 
Lutheran  church  the  most  of  the  time  un* 

131 


til  they  entered  the  new  church  building. 
Possibly  he  did  all  of  his  preaching  in  the 
new  church  building,  but  since  the  Baptists 
left  the  Methodist  church  during  the  pas- 
torate of  McManaway,  it  is  probable  that 
he  preached  a  few  times  in  the  Lutheran 
church.  Any  way,  he  did  much  good  while 
he  was  here.  A  fuller  account  of  his  minis- 
try will  be  given  in  the  chapter  on  the 
first  pastors  of  the  church. 

The  first  clerk  of  the  church  was  Col.  P, 
P.  Hoke.  He  was  a  very  earnest  Baptist, 
and  studied  the  work  carefully.  He  it  was 
who  drafted  the  Articles  of  Faith  for  the 
new  church,  and  also  wrote  the  Church 
Covenant,  It  is  to  be  regretted  so  much 
that  these  precious  documents  cannot  be 
found.  They  were  in  the  old  church  book, 
and  since  it  was  lost,  all  was  lost.  When 
the  church  applied  for  membership  in  The 
Kings  Mountain  Baptist  association,  the 
brethren  who  examined  the  Articles  of 
Faith  and  Church  Covenant,  for  this 
church,  reported,  they  said  they  were  the 
best  they  had  ever  seen.  It  means  much  to 
have  correct  Articles  of  Faith  and  Church 
Covenant,  What  a  pity  such  an  important 
document  as  these  Articles  of  Faith  were, 
should  be  handled  so  carelessly  that  they 
have  been  forever  destroyed,  or  lost. 

The  first  deacons  of  the  church  were  J. 
132 


Morrison,  Gaston  Littlejohn,  and  Henry 
Poteat.  Two  more  were  elected  very  soon 
after  the  church  was  organized,  and  were 
ordained  while  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was 
pastor,  or  a  little  later  by  a  Presbytery 
composed  of  T.  H.  Mullinax  and  others. 
Rev.  McManaway  remembers  the  meeting 
when  they  were  ordained.  These  were  J.  C> 
Baumgardner  and  J.  R.  Reynolds. 

This  chapter  is  not  what  the  writer  wish- 
es thatlt  was,  but  he  has  done  the  best  he 
could  with  what  he  has  had  to  gather  in- 
formation from.  He  wishes  to  add  just  one 
Word  here.  Here  is  what  it  is:  if  you  are  a 
church  clerk,  please  do  not  carelessly  throw" 
the  minute  book  around  and  allow  it  to  get 
lost.  You  have  the  history  of  the  church  in 
your  hands,  and  what  you  do  with  it  will 
determine  what  shall  become  of  the  history 
of.  your  church.  How  we  do  need  good,  in- 
terested church  clerks! 


133 


THK  OLD  WOODEN  BUILDING 


134 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  FIRST  BUILDING. 

The  First  Lot,  Secured,  Other  Lots  Secur- 
ed, The  Erection  of  The  Old  Framed  Build- 
ing, The  Struggles  Through  Which  The 
Baptists  Had  To  Go  To  Erect  Their  First 
Building. 


The  last  chapter  closed  with  an  account 
of  the  church  just  organized,  but  without 
a  home.  The  deacons  had  been  ordained, 
the  pastor  had  been  called,  and  several 
other  important  things  had  been  done  to- 
ward the  organization  of  the  church,  but 
the  church  was  homeless.  A  church  cannot 
do  much  without  a  church  building,  and 
this  is  especially  true  with  Baptists.  They 
hold  to  such  doctrines  that  they  must  have 
their  own  house  to  worship  in  to  prosper. 
This  was  true  at  Kings  Mountain,  and  is 
true  with  them  anywhere.  Before  they 
could  build  a  house  here  they  had  to  se- 
cure a  lot.  This  was  not  an  easy  task.  Two 
things  were  in  the  way.  First,  they  did  not 
have  the  money  to  purchase  an  expensive 
lot  with,  and  the  second  thing  was  that 
they  could  not  get  a  location  easily.  But 
the  Lord  always  leads  in  matters  of  this 
kind,  so  he  opened  the  heart   of  a  good 

135 


Presbyterian,  Mr.  John  H.  Craig  of  Gas- 
tonia,  and  he  donated  a  lot  to  the  church 
as  long  as  it  is  used  for  church  purposes. 
This  lot  is  on  the  south  corner  of  Moun- 
tain and  Piedmont  Streets.  The  lot  was 
fifty  feet  by  one  hundred  feet,  and  con- 
tained five  thousand  square  feet  of  land. 
It  was  deeded  to  Gaston  Littlejohn  and  J. 
Morrison,  deacons  of  Kings  Mountain  Bap- 
tist church,  and  is  dated  March  21,  1890. 
This  gift  from  Mr.  John  H.  Craig  meant 
much  to  the  Baptist  cause  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain. This  is  the  lot  that  the  first  house 
was  built  on,  and  that  a  part  of  the  pres- 
ent building  stands  on. 

The  second  lot  was  purchased  from 
Forest  Floyd  and  lies  just  south  of  the 
original  lot.  It  extends  fifty  feet  further 
south  than  the  old  lot,  and  was  one  hund- 
red and  fifty  one  feet  long.  This  extended 
across  the  back  end  of  the  original  lot  and 
even  beyond  it.  A  part  of  this  lot  has  been 
sold,  so  that  today,  we  do  not  have  all  of 
the  length  of  the  lot  as  it  was  purchased 
by  the  church. 

The  deed  to  this  lot  was  made  February 
13th.,  1911.  Brother  Floyd  purchased  this 
lot  from  C.  A.  Billing  for  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  and  sold  it  to  the  church  for 
just  what  he  gave  for  it. 

The  third  lot  the  church  bought  was  the 
13G 


one  lying  west  of  the  church.  It  was  sixiy 
five  feet  wide  and  one  hundred  feet  long. 
It  was  bought  from  Dr.  J.  G.  Hord,  com- 
missioner. The  church  does  not  own  all  of 
this  lot  at  present.  The  deacons  decided 
that  they  would  sell  a  part  of  it  and  Broth- 
er Forest  Floyd  and  Brother  J.  C.  Baum- 
gardner  bought  it.  It  now  belongs  to  the 
Floyd  heirs.  The  church  ought  to  have 
kept  it  by  all  means.  It  is  needed  so  much 
just  now.  Of  course  it  can  be  had,  but  it 
would  have  been  so  much  less  expense  for 
the  church  to  have  kept  it. 

The  church  now  owns  an  eighty  foot 
front  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  foot  back. 
This  is  a  very  nice  lot,  but  it  is  not  large 
enough  for  the  house  it  needs.  The  church 
needs  a  house  much  larger  than  it  has, 
and  it  needs  a  play  ground  for  the  lower 
grades  of  the  Sunday  School  to  have  little 
social  gatherings  on.  This  would  add  so 
much  to  our  work.  The  primary  depart- 
ment is  not  half  as  large  as  it  should  be, 
and  then,  the  Junior  and  Intermediate  de- 
partments are  entirely  too  small.  For  us  to 
take  care  of  them  as  we  should  would  re- 
quire twice  as  much  house  as  we  have.  Our 
folks  are  optimistic  and  determined  to  un- 
dertake almost  anything  they  feel  to  be 
necessary.  They  keep  talking  about  more 
room  in  our  house.   The  General  Superin- 

137 


tendent  says  that  we  must  have  it,  or  we 
are  going  to  have  to  curtail  our  work.  Of 
course  we  cannot  do  that,  so  there  is  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  plan  for  more  building, 
and  to  do  this  is  going  to  require  more 
land.  The  original  lots  will  have  to  be  pur- 
chased once  more.  The  mistake  of  the  past 
will  e'er  long  have  to  be  repaired.  Let  us 
take  courage  and  go  forward. 

After  the  first  lot  was  secured,  the  next 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  build  a  house.  This 
was  a  tremendous  undertaking  for  so 
small  a  church  as  this  was  at  that  time, 
but  they  had  a  few  who  were  determined. 
They  did  not  have  much  money,  but  they 
had  faith  in  themselves,  and  they  had 
faith  in  God. 

The  brethren  made  their  plans  for  their 
building,  and  secured  Mr.  John  T.  Ken- 
drick  to  oversee  the  building  of  the  house. 
Mr.  Kendrick  was  a  Baptist  but  was  not 
a  member  here.  He  owned  a  saw  mill  and 
a  mill  here,  and  while  he  was  not  a  rich 
man,  he  did  all  that  he  could  for  the 
church.  Several  in  the  country  gave  lum- 
ber, possibly  two  thousand  feet.  This  meant 
a  great  deal  for  the  church.  Rev.  Philip 
Elam  did  what  he  could  among  the  breth- 
ren in  the  other  churches.  Is  not  known 
just  how  much  he  raised  away  from  here, 
but  it  was  enough  to  help  the  work  con- 

1  o  o 

loo 


siderably  at  that  time.  The  house  was  be- 
gun while  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was  pas- 
tor. He  began  the  first  Sunday  in  April, 
but  did  not  preach  here  very  long.  A  mis- 
understanding arose  between  him  and  Rev. 
C.  F.  Felmet  and  he  resigned.  This  threw 
the  work  back  just  a  little,  but  Dr.  F.  C. 
Hickson  soon  took  charge  of  the  work,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  by  the  State  Mission 
Board  to  straighten  out  the  work  here.  Dr. 
C.  Durham  was  Corresponding  Secretary 
of  the  Board  at  that  time,  and  Dr.  Hickson 
was  pastor  at  Gastonia.  This  made  it  easy 
for  Dr.  Hickson  to  serve  here.  He  contin- 
ued the  work,  and  he  says  that  he  gave 
nearly  all  that  the  church  paid  him  for  his 
services,  toward  the  new  building. 

The  building  committee  was  composed  of 
the  following  brethren;  P.  P.  Hoke,  J.  C. 
Baumgardner,  and  C.  F.  Felmet.  They 
were  the  finance  committee  also.  One  of 
the  first  pastors  says  that  Rev.  C.  F.  Fel- 
met did  more  than  any  other  man  in  rais- 
ing money  to  pay  for  the  house,  but  all 
worked  hard  to  get  money  enough  to  get 
the  church  hulled  in,  and  when  it  was  hull- 
ed in,  it  looked  like  that  it  would  never  be 
finished.  Mrs.  J.  T.  Kendrick  said  that  she 
lay  many  a  night  and  cried  and  prayed  to 
the  Lord  to  make  it  possible  for  the  house 
to  be  finished.  The  lumber  was  lying  on 

139 


the  ground,  and  it  was  damaging  very 
much.  She  was  afraid  that  it  was  going  to 
rot  before  it  could  be  used,  but  God  pro- 
vides when  we  trust  him.  It  was  so  at  this 
place.  God  opened  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  they  gave  enough  to  finish  it.  it  took 
nearly  two  years  of  faithful  worK  to  get  it 
so  th8at  it  could  be  used  for  services,  but  it 
was  finished  because  the  people  had  a  mind 
to  work.  Every  one  was  given  a  chance  to 
work  who  wanted  to  give  anything  to  help 
build  it.  Some  did  not  have  money,  so  they 
were  given  a  chance  to  work  out  what 
they  wanted  to  contribute.  This  helped  con- 
siderably as  money  was  so  scarce  at  that 
time. 

When  the  Kings  Mountain  Association 
met  with  Waco  Baptist  chucrh  September 
22-24th,  1891,  at  the  Wednesday  evening 
sessions,  Dr.  C.  Durham  preached  a  power- 
ful sermon,  after  which  a  cash  collection 
was  taken  for  the  church  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain to  assist  in  completing  its  house  of 
worship.  The  following  brethren  gave  the 
amounts  opposite  their  names; 

Rev.  J.  M.  Bridges  $5.00  Rev.  T.  Bright  $5.00 

Rev.  G.  M.  Webb     $5.00  Rev.  G.  A.  Gold  $5.00 

H.  F.  Schenck          $5.00  Rev.  C.  E.  Gower  $5.00 

Joe  S.  Wray              $5.00  Mrs.  Hulda  Miller  $1.00 

Rev.  G.  P.  Hamriick  $5.00  F.  M.  Miller  $1.00 

140 


S.  L.  Dellinger 

$1.00 

D.  A.  Grigg 

$1.00 

J.  A.  Roberts 

$1.00 

Rev.  A.  M.  Ross 

$1.00 

J.  A.  Canriip 

$1.00 

C.  L.  Mauney 

$1.00 

E.   L.  Wallace 

$1.00 

W.  G.  Hord 

$1.00 

M.  A.  Pool 

$1.00 

Jonas  Jenkins 

$2.00 

M.   L.  Plonk 

$1.00 

Robert  Browin 

$1.00 

M.  L.  Putnam 

$1.00 

W.  H.  Hoover 

$2.00 

W.M.  Gaidinglhagin 

$1.00 

D.  S.  Lovelaice 

$1.00 

D.  J.  Hamrick 

$1.00 

D.  J.  Hamrick 

$1.00 

J.  L.  Pruett 

$1.00 

Noah  Hamrick 

$1.00 

W.  W.  White 

$1.00 

E.  F.  Dellinger 

$1.00 

P.  J.  Kendrick 

$1.00 

A.  A.  Wagstaff 

$1.00 

C.  A.  Hamrick 

$1.00 

T.  Hicks 

$1.00 

Miller  Eskrictge 

$1.00 

Zicn  Delegates 

$3.00 

J.  A.  White 

$1.00 

Hugh  Borders 

$1.00 

J.  A.  Black 

$1.00 

T.  J.  Dixon 

$1.00 

W.   F.  Peeler 

$1.00 

Mrs.  C.  Miller 

$1.00 

J.  M.  Elliott 

$3.00 

C.  M.  Stewart 

$1.00 

D.  H.  Elliott 

$1.00 

Jeff  D.  Elliott 

$1.00 

A.  E.  Elliott 

$  .50 

T.  D.  Yarboro 

$1.00 

J.  M.  M'cCullougih 

$  .25 

Mrs.  M.  E.  Putnam 

$  .50 

M.  Borders 

$  .50 

W.  P.  Wilson 

$1.00 

iS.Arrowood 

$1.00 

M.  T.  D.  Putnaimi 

$  .50 

B.  H.  Parker 

$1.00 

Andrew  Parker 

$1.00 

Rev.  A.  C.  Irvin 

$5.00 

R.  L.  Limrick 

$2.00 

Charles  Putnam 

$1.00 

TOTAL  $104.2  5 

t  This  collection  showed  that  the  associa- 
tion was  in  sympathy  with  the  young, 
struggling  church  at  Kings  Mountain.  The 

141 


above  list  is  given  that  we  may  not  forget 
those  who  helped  us  when  we  could  not 
help  ourselves. 

Several  collections  were  taken  in  public 
meetings  at  other  times  and  places,  but  the 
above  is  the  only  one  I  have  been  able  to 
get. 

The  First  Baptist  church  at  Shelby  gave 
the  church  here  the  first  seats  they  used  in 
the  old  church  They  were  not  very  com- 
fortable, but  they  served  the  purposes  ex- 
ceedingly well.  When  the  new  church  was 
built,  these  old  seats  that  had  been  used  in 
the  old  church  were  sold  to  Rev.  G.  D.  Her- 
man, a  Methodist  preacher  who  built  a 
chapel  near  where  Grace  church  now 
stands.  He  was  to  pay  forty  dollars,  but 
the  brethren  donated  twenty  dollars  of 
this  amount  to  the  chapel,  so  they  did  not 
get  but  twenty  dollars  for  them.  The  old 
bell,  which  was  used  so  long  for  school  pur- 
poses at  Iron  Station,  Lincoln  county,  was 
bought  by  the  church  here  for  twenty  five 
dollars  and  was  used  on  the  old  church 
house  until  the  new  one  was  built  then 
it  was  sold  to  the  Ebenezer  Baptist 
church,  a  colored  church  north  of  Kings 
Mountain,  for  twelve  and  one  half  dollars. 
It  is  still  regretted  by  many  that  the  bell 
was  ever  let  go.  It  could  not  have  been 
more  than  a  souvenir,  but  some  had  heard 

142 


it  sound  out  the  call  for  worship  to  the 
people  of  God  so  long  and  so  many  times 
that  they  did  not  want  it  to  leave  town, 
but  it  is  gone  now,  and  is  still  on  a  house 
of  God.  Let  us  not  worry  over  it,  but 
think  of  the  good  purposes  it  served  while 
it  was  here,  and  that  those  who  listened  to 
it  so  many  times  have  long  since  passed 
over  the  river  where  they  hear  the  bells  of 
the  paradise  of  God. 

The  first  organ  used  m  the  old  church 
house  was  furnished  by  P.  P,  Hoke,  but 
was  taken  out  after  it  had  been  used  for 
some  time,  and  when  he  took  his  organ  out 
of  the  churchy  another  was  bought.  This 
was  while  Rev.  T.  Bright  was  pastor.  This 
organ  is  still  here,  and  is  used  by  some  of 
the  organizations  of  the  church. 

The  seats  now  used  in  the  basement 
where  the  Business  Men's  Bible  Class 
meets  every  Sunday  morning,  are  those 
that  the  church  bought  when  they  dis- 
carded the  old  seats  that  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Shelby  gave  them.  These  seats 
were  bought  in  Charlotte.  A  committee 
consisting  of  Rev.  A.  H.  Sims,  George  W, 
Kendrick,  and  J.  C.  Baumgardner,  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  church  to  secure  the  new 
seats,  Brethren  Kendrick  and  Baumgard- 
ner told  their  pastor,  Rev.  A.  H,  Sims,  that 
if  he  would  go  to  Charlotte  and  buy  them, 


they  would  pay  his  expenses,  and  they 
did.  He  bought  the  seats  for  two  and  one 
half  dollars  each  knocked  down.  They 
were  shipped  ready  to  be  built.  Mr.  Julius 
Weir  made  them  for  the  church*  Others 
assisted  him,  but  their  names  are  not 
known.  These  new  seats  aided  greatly  in 
the  work  at  this  place.  They  were  so  much 
more  comfortable  than  the  old  ones.  This 
gave  impetus  to  the  work,  as  it  always 
gives  life  to  a  church  to  make  some  needed 
improvement.  It  has  been  so  since  the 
present  pastor  took  charge. 

The  old  church  had  a  steeple  on  it>  and 
on  the  top  of  this  tower  a  fish  was  placed, 
as  was  the  custom  at  that  time.  Brother 
Elam  who  raised  so  much  money  for  the 
church  outside  of  the  town,  said  that  he 
did  not  Want  the  fish  there,  but  he  was  too 
late  in  objecting.  The  fish  was  already  on 
it.  It  is  not  known  why  he  objected,  but 
was  not  the  fish  a  fitting  thing  to  place  on 
the  tower  of  a  Baptist  church?  A  fish  likes 
water,  and  so  do  the  Baptists.  They  spoil 
away  from  water,  and  so  do  many  of  the 
Baptists. 

Thus  the  old  frame  house  was  undertak- 
en and  finished.  It  was  not  an  imposing 
structure,  but  it  served  the  people  of  God 
exceedingly  well.  It  was  not  modern  in  ar- 
rangements,   but  it  did  what  nothing  else 

144 


had  done  in  this  town  before.  It  served  to 
house  the  people  called  Baptists,  and  that 
meant  a  great  deal.  After  all,  it  is  not  the 
house  that  makes  a  church,  It  is  the  or- 
ganization within  it. 

This  church  had  that.  It  was  not 
wealthy,  but  it  had  faith,  it  was  small  in 
numbers,  but  large  in  works.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  pedobaptists,  but  it  stood  for 
"the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the 
saints."  It  had  its  struggles,  but  they  all 
brought  the  church  nearer  to  the  Lord  of 
us  all.  They  were  tried  in  every  way,  but 
they  did  not  waver.  They  stood  firm  and 
the  Lord  used  them  for  the  beginning  of 
one  of  the  best  churches  in  North  Caro- 
lina. This  church  is  more  than  a  house,  it 
is  a  monument  to  the  labors  of  those  faith- 
ful men  and  women  who  stood  together 
here  to  defend  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
As  long  as  this  church  stands,  will  it  not 
tell  the  story  of  those  two  women  who 
came  here  to  begin  house  keeping  and  to 
raise  their  families?  Those  two  Baptist 
women  can  never  be  forgotten  as  long  as 
Kings  Mountain  Baptist  church  stands. 


145 


CHAPTER  VII 


PASTORS  WHO  SERVED  FROM  THE 
ORGANIZATION  UNTIL  1900, 

Their  Birth  And  Service  In  The  Master's 
Work.  Living:  Or  Dead. 


The  First  Baptist  church  of  Kings 
Mountain  had  seven  pastors  from  its  or- 
ganization until  1900.  It  seems  that  the 
church  could  not  get  a  man  who  could 
stay  long  enough  to  do  very  much  good.  It 
had  three  pastors  the  first  year  after  it 
was  organized,  or  we  might  say  that  it 
had  three  pastors  the  first  seven  months 
of  its  existence.  This  did  not  do  the  church 
much  good.  A  pastor  cannot  do  much  work 
in  one  year,  and  if  he  is  a  real  organizer, 
he  cannot  do  much  real  work  in  two  years* 
Many  churches  have  been  ruined  by  chang- 
ing pastors  every  two  or  three  years.  It  is 
an  injustice  to  the  pastor,  and  it  is  more 
to  the  church*  Long  pastorates  have  meant 
most  to  the  cause.  The  first  pastor  here, 
according  to  what  the  brethren  say,  was 
Rev.  M.  P.  Matheny. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  of  his  life  and 
W7ork; 

M.  P.  Matheny  was  born  in  Putnam  coun- 
ty, Tennessee,  in  1852,  and  Was  educated  at 

146 


Georgetown  and  Bethel  colleges  in  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1875, 
and  continued  in  the  work  for  forty  three 
years.  He  traveled  and  preached  extensive- 
ly in  all  parts  of  the  south,  Mexico,  and 
Canada.  He  was  corresponding  secretary 
of  the  Sunday  School  work  in  Missouri  for 
two  years,  and  was  assistant  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  State  Convention  of 
Texas  for  one  year. 

He  was  city  missionary  in  Chicago  for 
one  year,  and  was  missionary  of  the  State 
Convention  in  Arkansas  for  two,  or  possi- 
bly three  years.  He  was  a  great  evangelist, 
and  after  he  had  served  in  so  many  official 
ways  as  evangelist,  he  travelled  for  some 
time  as  an  independent  evangelist.  He 
preached  in  many  sections  of  North  Caro- 
lina. He  is  remembered  distinctly  in  Union, 
Mecklenburg,  Cleveland,  and  Rutherford 
counties. 

He  held  pastorates  in  North  Carolina, 
Missouri,  Oklahoma,  Arkansas,  and  Texas. 

In  all  of  his  work,  he  was  preeminently 
successful  The  worst  blunder  he  ever 
made  was  to  join  the  Gospel  Missioners  and 
line  up  against  the  Boards.  He  soon  saw 
the  folly  of  his  decision  and  went  back  to 
his  former  views.  The  whole  undertaking- 
was  a  failure,  but  many  of  the  best  men 
and  women  we  had   lined   up   with  the 

147 


148 


■movement.  Among  them  were  Rev.  G.  P» 
Bostic,  Wade  Bostic,  and  their  sister,  Miss 
Attie  Bostic  who  were  raised  at  Shelby, 
and  are  of  such  noted  missionary  fame. 
Many  of  the  pastors  of  the  Alexander  as- 
sociation went  with  the  movement  and 
have  never  come  back  to  the  work  of  the 
boards.  Among  them  is  the  noted  Parks 
Owaltney.  How  sad  that  such  good  men 
made  so  serious  a  mistake.  Rev.  Matheny 
was  very  sorry  that  he  went  with  the  Gos- 
pel Mission  movement,  and  so  expressed 
himself  in  the  later  years  of  his  life. 

Rev.  Matheny  was  a  writer  of  rare  abil- 
ity. He  was  editor  of  a  Baptist  paper  in 
North  Carolina,  the  name  of  which  I  can* 
not  give  just  here.  He  was  also  editor  of 
The  Regular  Baptist  in  Missouri,  and  later 
of  The  Baptist  Commonor,  and  still  later 
he  was  associate  editor  of  The  Baptist  and 
Commoner,  located  at  Little  Rock,  Arkan- 
sas. 

He  was  manager  of  the  Sunday  School 
commitee  of  the  State  of  Texas  for  several 
years,  and  did  a  great  work  in  that  capac- 
ity, The  Committee  was  greatly  in  debt 
when  he  took  charge,  but  within  a  few- 
months,  he  had  the  debt  raised  and  the 
work  placed  on  a  safe  basis. 

The  rare  gifts  combined  in  him  as  sing- 
er, orator,  writer  and  preacher,  made  him  a 

149 


master  of  men.  He  was  a  power  in  the  pul- 
pit, and  held  some  very  great  meetings.  He 
was  humble,  and  did  not  assume  any  arbi- 
trary attitude  toward  any  body,  or  any- 
thing. His  friends  loved  him  and  his  ene- 
mies hated  him  because  of  his  power  to  do 
things  for  the  Lord.  He  was  as  broad  as 
the  love  of  God,  and  as  narrow  as  His 
truth. 

Rev.  Matheny  was  twice  married,  his 
last  wife  being  a  sister  of  Mrs.  A.  H.  Sims, 
He  died  August  15th.,  1918,  at  Texarkana, 
Texas.  His  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the 
State  Line  cemetery  Sunday  afternoon, 
August  16th,  1918.  His  funeral  was  preach- 
ed by  Ben  M.  Bogart.  He  had  requested 
that  Rev.  Bogart  preach  it  and  his  wishes 
were  carried  out.  Bogart  was  assisted  by 
Elders  U.  W.  Jarrell,  T.  H.  Carter,  C.  C. 
Winters,  C.  A.  Gilbert,  and  D.  N.  John- 
son. These  preachers  also  acted  as  pail 
bearers. 

His  grave  was  covered  with  beautiful 
flowers  placed  there  by  his  friends.  Thus 
closed  the  life  of  the  man  who  came  to 
Kings  Mountain  and  planted  the  Baptist 
standard  by  organizing  a  church. 

Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was  the  second 
pastor  of  this  church  according  to  what 
has  been  told  concerning  the  list  of  pastors 
of  this  church.  He  took  charge  of  the  work, 

150 


April  the  1st.,  1890,  having  been  appointed 
missionary  for  this  place,  March  21st., 
1890,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  the 
first  Sunday  in  April  following.  He  spent 
the  night  before  with  Rev.  C.  F.  Felmet 
and  held  a  service  in  his  home. 

Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway  was  born  in 
Chamblissburg,  Bedford  County,  Virginia, 
June  4th.,  1858.  This  place  has  been  called 
the  "Hot  Bed  for  Baptist  Preachers."  His 
parents  were  Charles  Harvey  and  Nancy 
Ann  McManaway.  He  had  two  brothers 
who  were  Baptist  preachers.  They  were  A. 
G.  McManaway,  D.  D.,  who  was  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  church  of  Charlotte,  N. 

C,  for  a  long  time.  J.  M.  McManaway,  D. 

D.  ,  who  was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Shelby  at  one  time,  and  one 
brother,  a  physician,  Dr.  C.  G.  McManawy, 
of  Charlotte,  N.  C.  He  also  had  four  sisters. 

He  was  educated  in  the  free  schools  of 
Virginia  and  Wake  Forest  College.  He 
took  his  seminary  work  at  Louisville,  Ky. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach  when  he  was 
sixteen  years  old,  and  was  ordained  while 
he  was  living  in  Charlotte,  by  the  follow- 
ing presbytery;  Rev.  C.  E.  Gower,  Dr.  C. 
Durham,  and  Drs.  A.  G.  and  J.  M.  McMan- 
away. The  ordination  took  place  in  the 
First  Baptist  church  of  Charlotte. 

His  first  pastorate  was  Olivet  Street 
151 


KKV.  J.  E.  JlcM.YX.WVAV 


152 


Baptist  church,  Charlotte.  This  church  be- 
came 12th.  Street  Baptist  church,  and 
then  was  changed  to  9th.  Avenue. 

He  was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Concord,  First  Baptist  church  of 
Belmont,  First  Baptist  church  of  Kings 
Mountain,  Fort  Mill,  First  Baptist  church 
of  Greer,  S.  C,  New  Westminister,  First 
Baptist  church  of  Walhalla,  S.  C,  and  the 
following  country  churches;  Catawba,  Li- 
berty, New  Bethel,  Calvary,  Washington, 
Milford,  Friendship,  Locust  Hill,  White 
Oak,  Siloam,  Pleasant  Grove,  Unity,  and 
Fork  Shoals,  S.  C. 

He  was  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Fort 
Mill  Courier  in  South  Carolina.  He  was 
also  Field  Editor  for  the  Baptist  Courier 
of  South  Carolina,  located  at  Greenville. 

He  was  state  evangelist  for  the  South 
Carolina  Convention  for  three  years,  and 
Home  Board  evangelist  for  fifteen  years. 

He  married  Miss  Carrie  Freeman  of 
Charlotte,  N.  C,  and  has  seven  children, 
five  boys  and  two  girls. 

He  has  the  following  to  say  about  the 
work  here  while  he  was  pastor;  "I  began 
the  work  at  Kings  Mountain  about  1889 — 
may  be  a  little  earlier,  or  a  little  later.  I 
lived  with  my  brother,  Dr.  A.  G.  McMana- 
way  in  Charlotte.  He  was  the  pastor  of 
the  Tryon  Street  Baptist  church.  I  preach- 

153 


ed  twice  a  month  at  Fort  Mill,  S.  C,  and 
once  s  month  at  Belmont,  N.  C,  and  once 
a  month  at  Kings  Mountain.  That  was  my 
field.  I  usually  preached  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain on  Saturday  nights  and  Sunday  morn- 
ings and  evenings.  I  think  that  I  began 
going  there  before  the  church  was  organi- 
zed, though  I  am  not  certain  about  it  now. 
Rev.  C.  F.  Felmet  was  living  at  Kings 
Mountain  and  preaching  to  country 
churches  around  there.  As  I  remember  he 
began  the  work,  or  with  Col.  Hoke  got  it 
started.  Col.  Hoke  was  a  citizen  there,  and 
a  leading  Baptist.  His  wife  had  been  dead 
for  some  time.  The  first  Saturday  night 
there  I  spent  with  Rev.  C.  F.  Felmet  and 
preached  in  his  home.  It  might  have  been 
that  the  church  was  organized  that  night. 
I  remember,  dimly,  we  got  the  number  of 
Baptists  present  that  night — males  and 
females — it  might  have  been  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing;  though  I  remember 
another  night — a  week  day  night — when 
we  had  a  meeting  and  Dr.  F.  C.  Hickson, 
who  was  pastor  at  Gastonia,  was  with  us, 
and  preached  and  we  had  special  business 
of  some  kind.  That  meeting  was  held  in 
the  unfinished  building  we  had  started  on 
the  street  running  up  the  hill  from  the  old 
depot,  or  just  above  the  depot  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  mountain,  and  near  where, 

1  ^4 


I  was  told,  the  second  house  was  built,  if 
not  on  the  same  lot.  That  building  was  fin- 
ished before  I  left  there.  I  remember  wTe 
had  a  fine  crowd  present  that  night  and  a 
great  sermon  from  Dr.  Hickson.  It  made  a 
profound  repression  on  the  audience,  made 
up  of  different  denominations.  If  the 
church  was  not  organized  that  night,  it 
must  have  been  the  ordination  of  some 
deacons. 

There  were  very  few  Baptists  living 
there  at  that  time.  The  Lutherans  and  the 
A.  R.  P.'s  were  strong,  and  the  Methodist 
were  in  good  shape.  The  Baptists  were  not 
only  weak,  but  poor,  the  mcst  of  them  at 
least.  Col.  Hoke  was  the  first  Church 
Clerk,  and  as  they  had  church  conferences 
regularly,  you  ought  to  have  a  clear  record 
of  the  proceedings  all  the  time  I  was  there. 

Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter  lived  near  the 
church  upon  the  hill  in  a  white,  two  story 
house  with  double  story  piazza  all  across 
the  front,  and  that  was  my  home  the  most 
of  the  time  while  I  was  there.  Her  father 
was  one  of  the  leading  members  and  she 
was  well  fixed  and  a  great  Baptist,  and  a 
splendid  good  woman.  She  remained  true 
to  her  faith  as  long  as  I  knew  her,  and 
loved  her  church. 

I  think  the  church  was  organized  with 
something  less  than  thirty  members.  Thev 

155 


were  a  faithful,  noble  band,  and  I  loved 
them  dearly.  There  were  the  Felmets,  all 
ot  them  faithful,  one  son  becoming  a 
preacher — Rev.  J.  P.  Felmet — and  has  been 
a  valuable  worker,  Col.  Hoke,  who  kept 
batch,  the  Baumgardners,  who  ran  a  small 
iivery  stable,  Mrs.  Homesly,  who  ran  the 
Blue  Ridge  Hotel,  and  who  was  the  mother 
of  Miss  Lillian  Homesly  who  became  so 
famous  as  a  singer,  the  Littlejohns — 
mighty  good  people,  and  the  Poteats,  who 
lived  at  the  only  cotton  mill  then  built 
there.  I  do  not  recall  the  names  of  any  of 
the  others  though  I  remember  others 
whose  names  have  gone  from  me. 

As  for  salary,  I  did  not  receive  much, 
possibly  I  averaged  five  dollars  per  month. 
I  remember  my  railroad  fare  was  one  dol- 
lar and  twenty  cents,  sixty  cents  each  way. 

When  I  first  went  to  Kings  Mountain, 
the  other  denominations  had  very  little 
dealings  with  the  Baptists,  but  they  came 
to  be  very  friendly  and  helpful.  We  wor- 
shipped in  the  Methodist  church  house 
while  our  house  was  a  building.  Our  church 
grew  rapidly,  I  think  there  were  over  a 
hundred  members  when  I  left.  I  quietly  re- 
signed and  left,  I  do  not  know  who  suc- 
ceeded me.  Though  I  have  passed  through 
Kings  Mountain  hundreds  of  times  since  I 
was  pastor,  and  in  a  way  have   kept  up 

15(5 


with  the  work  and  the  wonderful  growth 
of  the  town,  I  have  never  gone  back  there 
since  I  left  them  as  pastor.  I  have  a  warm 
place  in  my  heart  for  the  church  and  city, 
and  I  trust  that  the  Lord  used  me  in  some 
way,  while  I  was  there,  to  accomplish  a 
little  good. 

The  above  letter  gives  information  con- 
cerning conditions  here  thirty  six  years 
ago.  Brother  McManaway  is  right  in  the 
main,  but  in  some  points  he  is  not.  As  has 
been  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  he  was 
sent  here  by  the  State  Mission  Board. 
The  records  are  very  clear  on  this  point. 
These  records  are  in  the  Corresponding 
Secretaries^  office  in  Raleigh.  If  they  had 
been  here  they  would  have  been  destroyed, 
or  I  suppose  that  they  would. 

Rev.  McManaway  held  the  first  meeting 
with  the  church  after  it  was  organized.  He 
has  always  been  a  great  evangelist,  and  he 
must  have  held  a  fine  meeting  here.  He 
says  that  several  joined  the  church,  but 
does  not  remember  how  many,  or  who 
they  were.  He  did  the  first  baptising  that 
was  ever  done  in  this  town.  The  first  two 
men  to  be  baptised  were  Brother  S.  J.  Po- 
teat  and  Bro.  Joe  R.  Reynolds.  Brother 
Reynolds  is  still  a  member  with  us,  but 
Brother  Poteat  has  moved  to  Bessemer 
City. 

157 


Bill  Fife  held  a  meeting  in  a  big  tent 
while  McManaway  was  pastor  here.  The 
town  was  wonderfully  moved  by  the  meet- 
ing, and  much  good  seemed  to  have  been 
dene.  Fife's  sister  died  while  he  was  in  the 
meeting' here,  and  he  left  McManaway  in 
charge  of  the  meeting  while  he  attended 
his  sister's  funeral  at  Wilmington.  When 
he  returned,  he  found  the  meeting  going- 
good  and  offered  McManway  a  salary  to  go 
with  him.  He  did  not  hold  but  one  meeting 
wich  Fife.  He  was  a  crook,  and  McMana- 
way found  it  out  on  the  start,  or  he  might 
have  ruined  him. 

McManaway  is  still  an  independent 
evangelist  though  he  has  been  preaching 
for  many  years.  His  home  is  in  Greenville, 
South  Carolina.  His  mind  is  still  active,  and 
he  can  write  like  a  boy.  He  has  held  hun- 
dreds of  meetings  all  over  the  south,  and 
is  still  doing  work  for  the  Master  as  op- 
portunity comes  to  him. 

McManaway  resigned  before  the  year 
was  out  and  left  the  work  without  a  pastor, 
and  as  preachers  were  very  scarce  at  that 
time,  the  church  had  to  do  without  a  pas- 
tor for  a  little  while,  but  as  this  work  was 
under  the  direction  of  the  State  Board,  it 
was  largely  responsible  for  the  pastor.  So 
Brother  Columbus  Durham,  who  was  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  the  State  Mission 

158 


Board  at  that  time,  wrote  Dr.  F.  C.  Hick- 
son  to  go  over  from  Gastonia  where  he 
was  pastor  to  look  after  the  work.  Dr. 
Hickson  complied  with  the  request,  and 
began  preaching  here  the  latter  part  of 
1890.  He  preached  the  remainder  of  the 
year  on  week  nights  and  Sunday  after- 
noons. He  held  one  protracted  meeting 
while  he  was  pastor,  but  no  record  of  the 
meeting  can  be  found.  It  is  not  known  how 
many  professions  of  faith  they  had,  but 
the  meeting  was  a  success. 

The  house  of  worship  was  not  completed 
while  he  was  pastor  here,  and  he  gave 
largely  toward  the  erection  of  it.  If  it  had 
not  been  for  the  pasters  who  have  sacri- 
ficed so  much,  many  of  the  church  build- 
ings of  North  Carolina  would  never  have 
been  built.  Dr.  Hickson  received  five  dol- 
lars a  month  and  the  Board  paid  him  forty 
dollars  a  year  for  his  service  here,  and  he 
returned  it  back  to  the  brethren  to  be  ap- 
plied on  the  building. 

Dr.  Hickson  was  a  great  preacher,  and 
did  much  good  here  as  he  did  at  Gastonia, 
and  the  many  other  places  he  served  aa 
pastor. 

The  following  is  a  sketch  of  his  life, 
which  will  doubtless  be  very  interesting  to 
those  who  knew  him ; 

He  was  born  in  Barnwell  county,  South 
159 


Carolina,  July  14th.,  1856,  and  grew  up  uri- 
cler  the  curses  of  the  Civil  War,  and  the 
Reconstruction  period,  which  was  the  most 
trying  time  the  south  has  ever  experienc- 
ed. The  South  wag  over  run  by  carpetbag- 
gers and  scullions  of  every  kind.  The  whole 
south  was  humiliated  to  the  point  of  de- 
spair. No  schools,  poor  churches,  and  our 
homes  devastated.  Our  men  were  nearly  all 
killed,  and  our  fortunes  gone.  Such  were 
the  conditions  of  the  country  while  Dr4 
Hickson  was  growing  up. 

He  was  saved  when  but  a  child,  and  be- 
gan preaching  when  he  was  eighteen  years 
old.  His  first  pastorates  were  churches  in 
Greenville  and  Anderson  counties  in  South 
Carolina.  He  attended  college  at  Furman 
University  and  preached  to  these  churches 
while  he  was  a  student  there. 

After  graduating  from  Furman,  he  at- 
tended the  Southern  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary  at  Louisville,  Ky.  When  he  came 
back  from  the  seminary,  he  served  two 
country  churches  in  Barnwell  county. 

He  served  as  missionary  in  the  Santee 
Association  during  the  years  of  1881  and 
1882.  During  this  time  he  founded  two 
churches  in  that  section  of  South  Carolina* 
From  this  work,  he  was  called  to  be  pastoi* 
of  Cheraw  Baptist  church,  and  he  accepted 
the   call   While   pastor   at  Cheraw,  he 

160 


preached  at  Chesterfield  Court  House  and 
founded  the  church  there.  This  is  one  of  the 
best  churches  in  South  Carolina.  The 
writer  came  very  near  becoming  pastor 
there  at  one  time,  and  has  some  very  dear 
friends  who  are  members  there. 

From  the  pastorate  at  Cheraw,  Dr.  Hick- 
son  went  as  a  Missionary  to  Canton, 
China,  where  he  served  acceptably  until 
his  health  gave  way,  and  he  had  to  return 
to  America. 

He  was  pastor  at  York,  South  Carolina, 
later  on  in  life,  and  while  there,  he  and 
Rev.  G.  M.  Webb  went  to  Dallas  and  Long 
Creek  Baptist  churches  in  Gaston  County 
and  preached.  Dr.  Hickson  spoke  on  mis- 
sions at  both  of  the  above  mentioned 
places,  and  it  was  on  this  trip  that  he  dis- 
covered Gastonia,  and  made  a  mission  out 
of  it.  He  preached  there  for  five  years, 
and,  I  believe,  did  the  best  work  of  his  life. 
He  s:ave  up  the  work  at  Gastonia  to  serve 
weak  country  churches  in  several  counties 
in  South  Carolina. 

Dr.  Hickson  was  pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist church  at  Forest  City  for  eight  years. 
He  did  a  noble  work  at  this  place,  and  he 
might  have  remained  there  for  years  long- 
er, but  his  health  gave  way  and  he  resign- 
ed to  go  west  trying  to  regain  his  lost  vig- 
or and  strength.  He  remained  in  the  west 

161 


for  five  years,  then  returned  to  South  Car- 
olina, his  native  state,  and  located  at  Gaff- 
ney.  Since  his  return  from  the  west,  he 
has  been  serving  country  churches  in  sev- 
eral sections  of  South  Carolina.  He  has  the 
following  to  say  of  the  work  he  has  done ; 
"The  most  effective  work  I  have  done  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God  has  been  speaking  on 
Missions,  Education,  and  Temperance. 

I  travelled  Gaston,  Cleveland  and  Ruth- 
erford Counties  in  North  Carolina,  and 
York,  Chester,  Cherokee,  and  Union  coun- 
ties in  South  Carolina  'till  I  knew  almost 
all  the  roads  and  pig  paths  in  them.  The 
growth  of  Missions,  Education,  and  Tem- 
perance has  gone  in  these  thirty  five  years 
far  beyond  my  fondest  hopes,  and  the  Bap- 
tist denomination  has  made  progress  in 
numbers  and  strength  until  it  amazes  me. 

I  am  now  sixty  nine  years  old,  and  my 
health  is  so  precarious  I  cannot  hope  to 
live  much  longer,  or  do  much  more  work 
for  the  Master.  I  have  buried  the  most  of 
my  best  friends,  and  in  a  few  years  at  best, 
I  shall  follow  them. 

During  all  of  these  years,  I  have  never 
received  a  living  from  my  ministry.  It  has 
cost  me  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to 
preach  fifty  years,  and  if  I  had  fifty  more 
years  and  millions  of  dollars,  I  would  put 
all  of  them  into  the  work  of  the  Kingdom, 

162 


I  have  suffered  much  in  many  ways,  but 
I  have  had  a  glorious  time  in  the  Lord's 
work, 

I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  kept 
the  faith;  henceforth  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness is  laid  up  for  me,  which  the  Lord 
shall  give  me  in  that  day. 

Dr.  Hickson  did  a  good  work  at  Kings 
Mountain  and  quietly  moved  out  for  ano- 
ther man  to  come  and  build  upon  what  he 
had  done. 

He  left  the  church  with  thirty  one  mem- 
bers. Eight  joined  by  letter  while  he  was 
pastor,  and  seven  letters  were  granted,  two 
died,  leaving  the  membership  thirty  one. 
The  church  raised  only  $16.50  for  all  ob- 
jects during  the  year.  Dr.  Hickson  was  the 
last  pastor  to  receive  aid  from  the  board  of 
missions.  The  Sunday  School  had  not  yet 
been  organized,  and  many  of  the  other  ac- 
tivities of  the  church  had  not  been  organ- 
ized, but  he  was  the  right  man  for  the 
place  at  the  time  he  came.  He  was  a  real 
constructionist,  and  showed  his  real  ability 
here  as  he  did  at  Gastonia. 

He  is  still  living  near  Gaffney,  and  is 
still  preaching.  May  his  life  in  its  close  be 
a  greater  blessing  than  it  has  ever  been  in 
all  of  the  past. 

*Rev.  P.  G.  Hopper  succeeded  Rev.  F.  C. 

%I  'could  not  secure  a  cut  of  Dr.  Hickson  or  Rev.  Hop- 

m  163 


Hickson  as  pastor  of  this  church.  He  seems 
to  have  been  pastor  at  Grover  and  Patter- 
son's Grove  at  the  same  time.  He  did  not 
serve  very  long.  Some  trouble  arose  con- 
cerning him  and  a  young  lady.  Slanderous 
reports  were  circulated  concerning  him 
and  this  girl,  and  the  people  took  a  stand 
against  him  without  very  much  investiga- 
tion. Some  of  the  churches  were  locked 
against  him,  while  otherss  simply  asked 
him  to  resign.  The  whole  trouble  seems  to 
have  been  handled  in  a  very  unwise  way, 
which  caused  the  Kingdom  much  humilia- 
tion, and  came  very  near  ruining  the 
preacher.  It  is  so  unwise  to  take  up  a  re- 
port on  any  one  without  carefully  consid- 
ering every  phase  of  it.  No  one  tries  to  ex- 
cuse the  young  man  for  this  imprudence, 
but  say  that  there  was  nothing  criminal  in 
any  of  his  conduct.  He  did  not  stay  in  this 
section  very  long  after  this  trouble  arose, 
but  quietly  went  to  another  state,  sup- 
posedly Kentucky,  where  he  served  church- 
es acceptably  the  rem  aider  of  his  life. 

His  death  is  one  of  the  saddest  stories 
ever  known.  He  and  his  wife  drank  some 
poisoned  water  and  both  died  from  the  ef- 
fects of  it.  Their  bodies  were  brought 
back  to  this  country  and  buried  in  a 
church  yard  near  Grover.  Thus  ended  the 
life  of  Rev.  Gufon  Hopper.  The  writer  has 


been  unable  to  get  any  information  con- 
cerning his  life  and  work.  Those  to  whom 
he  wrote  for  it  failed  to  reply,  as  has  many 
others  to  whom  he  has  written  for  valua- 
ble information.  However,  if  the  informa- 
tion comes  before  the  manuscript  goes  to 
press,  it  will  be  added  as  a  foot  note.* 

Brother  T.  Bright  succeeded  Rev.  P.  G. 
Hopper  as  pastor  of  the  church  at  Kings 
Mountain.  Brother  Bright  did  a  noble 
work.  He  baptised  sixteen  the  first  year  he 
was  pastor  here,  and  received  thirteen  by 
letter,  making  twenty  nine  members  added 
to  the  membership  of  the  church.  He  clos- 
ed the  year  with  fifty  three  members.  The 
church  raised  $221.00  for  all  objects  during 
the  year.  No  report  of  pastor's  salary  h.ad 
been  made  by  the  church  until  this  year, 
this  year  it  reported  $60.00  paid  to  pastor. 
No  mention  of  wlfat  the   original  house 

*Mrs.  W.  C.  Ellis  ihas  fiiftMshed  the  following-  informa- 
tion icdncemhrg  Rev.  P.  GtvHopper;  He  was  horn  and 
raised  in  South  Carolina  near  Old  Buffalo  Baptist 
tluireh.  He  was  born  April  3.  1864,  and  died  July  4th., 
1  89  8,  at  fhe  age  of  thirty  four  years,  three  months  and 
t,re  day  old.  He  was  a  son  of  Posey  Hopper,  and  a 
grand  sen  of  Rev.  Lewis  McSwain.  His  wife  was  Miss 
Mary  McArtnur.  Etlie  was  born  June  2  6th.,  1867,  and 
died  July  4th.,  189  8.  This  was  the  very  same  day  tnal 
iher  liusband  died.  They  had  two  children,  Eva  and 
Broadus,  Eva  married  Audrell  Webber  of  Earl,  N.  C. 

165 


KKV.  T- BRIGHT 


166 


cost  was  ever  made  to  any  of  the  associa- 
tions. That  is  all  in  the  past,  and  no  record 
of  it  can  be  found. 

Brother  Bright  served  two  years,  1892 
and  1893,  The  second  year  did  not  show 
as  great  a  growth  as  the  first.  He  baptised 
four,  and  received  three  by  letter.  Letters 
were  granted  to  two,  three  were  excluded, 
and  one  died.  The  total  membership  at  the 
close  of  the  year  was  sixty  one,  and  the 
total  amount  of  money  raised  during  the 
year  was  two  hundred  and  twenty  five  dol- 
lars and  seventy  five  cents. 

The  second  year  of  Brother  Bright's 
ministry  marked  a  new  day  for  the  Baptist 
work  at  Kings  Mountain.  It  was  during 
this  time  that  the  Sunday  School  was  or- 
ganized. Brother  A.  E.  Clayton  was  elected 
the  first  superintendent.  The  school  was 
begun  with  fifty  scholars.  Nothing  could 
have  been  done  for  the  work  here  that 
would  have  meant  more  for  the  kingdom 
of  God.  The  first  organization  of  the  Sun- 
day School  was  brought  about  during  his 
pastorate. 

Rev.  T.  Bright  was  born  in  Spartanburg 
county,  South  Carolina,  1845.  In  1845,  his 
father  moved  to  Madison  county,  North 
Carolina,  where  he  remained  until  his  chil- 
dren were  about  grown,  or  possibly  alto- 
gether grown. 

167 


The  schools  of  that  day  were  very  poor. 
They  did  not  last  but  one  and  two  months 
in  a  year.  They  usually  had  one  month  one 
year,  and  reserved  the  small  balance  of  the 
money  until  the  next  year,  and  then  they 
would  have  two  months.  This  kind  of 
schooling  is  what  Rev.  T.  Bright  had  dur- 
ing his  early  years.  The  teachers  were  not 
well  posted,  but  did  the  best  they  could. 
The  text  books  were  scarce  and  very  poor 
for  the  children  to  study.  All  of  this  held 
the  children  back  so  much  in  that  day  that 
but  few  of  them  ever  got  enough  educa- 
tion to  teach  school,  or  to  do  anything  but 
farm  or  to  do  some  kind  of  manual  labor. 

T.  Bright  was  sixteen  years  old  before 
he  ever  heard  a  sermon.  He  and  two  other 
boys  were  rambling  one  Sunday — just 
strolling  down  the  creek  to  see  what  they 
could  find.  They  came  on  a  little  school 
house  which  had  recently  been  built.  They 
saw  that  the  people  were  gathering  there, 
and  inquired  what  it  meant.  Ihey  were 
told  that  there  was  going  to  be  preaching 
there  that  day,  so  they  decided  to  stay 
and  see  what  it  was  going  to  be. 

The  preacher  preached  as  best  he  could 
and  T.  Bright  was  saved,  and  what  is 
more,  he  felt  called  to  preach  from  that 
very  hour.  There  was  no  church  at  the 
school   house,   and  so  he  had  to  postpone 

163 


joining  the  church  until  he  could  have  an 
opportunity  to  do  so. 

The  next  fall  a  meeting  was  held  at  a 
school  house  built  nearer  the  Bright  home. 
This  meeting  was  held  by  Elder  Posey  Par- 
ham.  T,  Bright  says  that  after  much  per- 
suasion he  got  his  father  to  allow  him  to 
attend  the  meeting  one  day.  The  next  day, 
he  got  his  father  and  mother  and  the  other 
children  to  go.  All  were  saved  and  all  join- 
ed the  church.  T.  Bright,  his  father  and 
mother  and  three  sisters  joined  the  church 
and  were  baptised. 

He  was  ordained  in  1868,  and  has  preach- 
ed fifty  two  and  one  half  years.  He  has 
baptised  two  thousand  five  hundred  candi- 
dates into  the  fellowship  of  Baptist 
churches  in  the  south.  He  did  about  six 
months  evangelistic  work  each  year  while 
he  was  an  active  pastor.  He  retired  from 
the  active  ministry  six  years  ago.  He  is 
in  declining  health  at  present.  His 
heart  has  become  weak  so  that  it  is  danger- 
ous for  him  to  be  away  from  home.  His 
wife  is  still  living.  They  reside  at  Dublin, 
Ga. 

His  work  at  Kings  Mountain  is  still  evi- 
dent. The  Sunday  School  is  his  monument, 
and  as  long  as  it  lasts,  T.  Bright  ought  to 
be  known  in  this  town.  Rev.  J.  A.  Hoyle 
succeeded  Rev.  T.  Bright  in  1894.  During 

169 


the  time  that  he  was  pastor  here  he  added 
by  baptism  four,  by  letter  fifty;  and  sus- 
tained the  following  losses ;  by  letter  twen- 
ty, none  died  and  none  were  excluded.  The 
Sunday  School  had  fifty  five  scholars  in 
1894,  seventy  eight  in  1895,  and  forty  six  in 
1896.  The  following  amounts  were  raised 
by  the  church;  1894  for  all  objects  includ- 
ing pastor's  salary  $154.00,  1895,  $235.75; 
]  896,  $146.50.  The  pastor's  salary  was  one 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars.  The  following 
is  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Rev.  J.  A.  Hoyle ; 

Brother  Hoyle  was  born  in  Burke  Coun- 
ty, N.  C,  on  the  21st  of  March,  1850,  and 
died  October  3rd.,  1918.  He  was  nearly  to 
the  sixty-ninth  mile  post  in  life. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Ellen  Crowder  and  to  this  union  were 
born  seven  children.  He  was  married  the 
second  time  to  Miss  Carrie  Beaty,  who 
with  four  children  survive. 

He  was  converted  under  the  preaching 
of  Brother  A.  C.  Irvin  in  August,  1880, 
and  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  Mt. 
Zion  Church.  He  was  licensed  in  March, 
1881,  and  was  ordained  to  the  full  work 
June  16th  of  the  next  year,  by  Brethern 
T.  Dixon,  A.  L.  Stough  and  G.  M.  Webb. 

When  a  young  man  in  the  ministry  he 
did  much  preaching  at  mission  points  and 
built  up  the  cause  in  destitute  places.  He 


KEV.  J.  A.  HOYEE 


171 


had  been  greatly  blessed  as  the  introducer 
of  Baptist  doctrines  into  communities,  the 
organization  of  churches  and  the  building 
of  good  houses.  He  has  built  more  church 
houses  and  baptized  more  members  than 
any  minister  that  has  labored  in  our 
bounds.  He  served  churches  in  Catawba, 
Lincoln,  Cleveland,  Burke,  Gaston,  Meck- 
lenburg, and  many  other  adjoining  coun- 
ties. 

Brother  Hoyle  did  a  great  work  in  his 
early  ministry  as  a  pioneer  preacher.  He 
did  much  of  his  preaching  under  arbors,  in 
school  houses,  and  dwelling  houses.  For 
this  mission  work  he  received  very  little 
compensation.  He  prepared  the  way  for 
many  churches  that  are  now  strong  organ- 
izations and  are  doing  much  for  the  cause 
of  Christ.  Though  many  of  these  church 
houses  have  given  way  to  nicer  and  better 
equipped  buildings,  yet  it  should  not  be 
forgotten  that  it  was  through  his  untiring 
efforts  and  sacrifice  that  these  churches 
had  their  origin.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
Brother  Hoyle  will  never  get  the  honor  due 
him,  and  our  churches  will  never  fully  re- 
alize what  he  has  done  for  us,  in  prepar- 
ing the  way,  especially  in  the  South  Fork 
Association. 

Brother  Hoyle  was  a  man  that  was  firm 
in  what  he  believed  to  be    right.  He  was  a 

172 


man  that  spoke  out  his  convictions  and 
stood  for  the  same.  He  was  a  good  citizen, 
a  faithful  preacher  of  the  gospel  and  an 
affectionate  husband  and  father. 

He  leaves  to  mourn  his  loss  a  wife  and 
ten  children,  and  a  number  of  friends. 

"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  sayeth  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  la- 
bors: and  their  works  do  follow  them.1' 
Rev.  14:13. 

Brother  Hoyle  was  a  great  man  in  many 
respects,  but  he  could  not  hold  a  church 
together  after  he  had  organized  it.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  church  builders  in  the 
state,  but  that  was  his  work,  nothing 
more.  He  built  a  church  for  every  year  that 
he  preached,  but  could  not  keep  them  going 
when  he  built  them.  God  has  men  for  every 
kind  of  work,  and  his  was  organizing 
churches  in  poor,  neglected  places  where 
Baptists  could  scarcely  live.  His  work  here 
was  not  a  failure  by  any  means.  He  did 
much  good,  but  had  to  give  way  for  other 
men  to  carry  the  work  forward.  His  mem- 
ory is  very  dear  to  the  writer  since  he  was 
baptised  by  him  more  than  thirty  years 
ago.  It  is  now  almost  forty  years,  but  time 
flies  so  fast  that  it  is  hard  to  realize  how 
long  anything  that  far  back  has  been. 

Rev.  Albert  M.  Ross  succeeded  Rev.  J.  A. 
173 


Hoyle  in  the  pastorate  at  Kings  Mountain. 
The  church  was  somewhat  disorganized 
when  Ross  took  charge.  Brother  Hoyle  was 
a  great  church  builder,  but  he  could  not 
keep  them  going.  He  was  a  great  and  good 
man,  and  the  writer  has  the  deepest  re- 
gard for  him,  but  he  could  not  build  much 
after  he  finished  the  house.  Brother  Ross 
served  the  longest  of  any  of  the  first  pas- 
tors. He  served  from  1897  until  he  left  to 
go  to  the  seminary  in  the  fall  of  1900.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate  here,  the  church  grewT 
steadily  in  every  way.  The  first  year  he 
served  here  (1897)  he  baptised  seven  mem- 
bers and  received  twenty  two  by  letter,  one 
was  restored,  eleven  dismissed  by  letter, 
and  one  died.  The  total  membership  at  the 
close  of  that  year  was  one  hundred  and 
eighteen.  The  salary  paid  him  that  year 
was  $125.00,  and  $257.77  were  raised  for  all 
objects.  The  second  year  he  was  pastor  he 
baptised  thirty  three  into  the  fellowship  of 
the  church,  received  sixteen  by  letter,  re- 
stored one,  and  lost  eleven  by  letter.  The 
membership  at  the  close  of  that  year  was 
one  hundred  and  thirty  three.  The  church 
raised  for  all  objects  that  year  $175.05. 
The  third  year  he  served  here  was  not 
quite  so  great  along  evangelistic  lines.  He 
baptised  seven  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church,  received  twenty  six  by  letter,  and 

174 


REV.  A.  M-  ROSS 


175 


dismissed  eighteen  by  letter,  and  had  oh6 
death.  The  membership  at  the  close  of  the 
year  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  three. 
The  church  raised  a  total  of  $185.50  for  all 
objects.  The  fourth  and  last  year  that  he 
served  here  wag  a  good  one.  This  time  he 
baptised  three,  received  thirteen  by  letter, 
restored  two,  and  granted  letters  to  five, 
and  two  died.  He  lost  thirteen  by  exclusion 
also.  These  were  the  only  ones  that  were 
excluded  while  he  was  pastor.  The  trouble 
is  not  known,  but  it  must  have  been  some 
kind  of  an  "ism"  that  caused  them  to  lose 
their  membership. 

The  Sunday  School  work  was  in  very 
good  shape  while  Brother  Ross  was  pastor. 
Ncne  of  the  other  auxiliaries  had  been  or- 
ganized. 

Rev.  A.  M.  Ross  was  born  near 
Oak  Grove  Baptist  church,  Cleveland  coun- 
ty, November  23,  1867.  His  parents  were 
Noah  Webb  Ross  and  Elizabeth  Jane  Wil- 
son Ross.  He  had  four  brothers  and  four 
sisters.  Mrs.  W.  K.  White  is  one  of  his  sis- 
ters. She  is  one  of  the  best  members  Kings 
Mountain  Baptist  church  has  in  it.  The 
other  brothers  and  sisters  live  elsewhere. 

Brother  Ross  grew  up  on  a  farm  as 
many  other  Baptist  preachers  have.  He 
was  converted  during  a  revival  at  Patter- 
son's Grove  Baptist  church  and  was  bap- 

176 


tised  the  following  Sunday,  August  28th. , 
1883,  by  Rev.  G.  P.  Hamrick.  He  entered 
Wake  Forest  College  in  the  fall  of  1893 
and  remained  there  until  he  graduated 
either  the  spring  of  1896,  or  1897. 

He  roomed  with  Dr.  Walter  N.  Johnson 
and  was  a  class  mate  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Owen, 
who  was  once  a  missionary  to  China,  and 
is  now  an  evangelist  in  the  South. 

September  9th.,  1915,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Alice  Proctor1  of  Missouri.  One  babe 
was  born  to  this  union,  but  died  before  itg 
father  passed  over. 

Brother  Ross  served  several  churches  ill 
this  section  of  the  state,  and  was  pastor  at 
several  important  points  in  Missouri. 
While  pastor  at  Kings  Mountain,  he  served 
Bethlehem  and  Bessemer  City.  He  it  was 
who  organized  the  Baptist  church  at  Bes- 
semer City  and  secured  the  lot  upon  which 
the  house  was  built.  His  earnest,  and  per- 
sistent labors  there,  as  well  as  here  have 
been  greatly  rewarded  by  the  Master  of 
the  Vineyard. 

He  organized  the  Baptist  church  at  Bes- 
semer City  during  the  spring  of  1897,  with 
only  seventeen  members.  The  little  branch 
has  now  become  a  great  giant  of  strength, 

He  did  all  that  he  could  to  place  the  new 
church  on  a  firm  basis  before  he  had  to 
leave  it.  He  secured  timber  from  friends 

177 


four  miles  in  the  country,  and  cut  the  first 
logs  with  his  own  hands. 

When  the  first  loads  of  lumber  reached 
the  lot  upon  which  the  house  was  to  be 
built,  Brother  Ross  had  all  of  the  hands  to 
raise  their  hats  while  he  thanked  God 
that  the  hour  had  come  when  it  was  possi- 
ble for  the  Baptists  to  have  a  church  house 
all  of  their  own. 

Brother  Ross  was  a  true  gospel  preach- 
er. His  messages  always  had  the  divine 
ring.  There  was  no  note  of  compromise  in 
any  of  them.  He  was  never  moved  by  any 
of  the  modern  "isms,"  but  stuck  close  to 
the  truth,  and  did  all  he  could  to  defend  it* 

The  sad  thing  about  his  life  is  the  fact 
that  he  lost  his  health  before  he  became  an 
old  preacher.  While  pastor  in  Missouri  he 
had  to  give  up  because  of  bodily  infirmi- 
ties, and  on  December  21,  1923,  he  passed 
over  the  river  to  preach  no  more.  He  died 
at  Columbia,  Missouri,  where  his  widow 
now  lives.  She  makes  her  living  by  running 
a  millinery  store. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Owen,  one  of  his  Wake  Forest 
class  mates  preached  his  funeral,  assisted 
by  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Columbia,  and  another  preacher  friend. 
Brother  Owen  was  pastor  at  Fulton,  Mis- 
souri, at  that  time.  He  and  Brother  Ross 
were  very  great  friends, 


His  body  was  laid  to  rest  under  a  bank 
of  most  beautiful  flowers  to  await  the 
Angel  of  the  Resurrection. 

Rev.  A.  M.  Ross  was  a  real  man.  He  was 
a  scholar,  a  real  preacher,  and  a  tireless 
worker  for  the  Master.  All  who  knew  him 
loved  him,  and  wherever  he  was  pastor,  he 
is  still  remembered  and  loved.  Bessemer 
City  honors  him  greatly.  He  did  some  noble 
work  at  Kings  Mountain,  and  with  his  go- 
ing the  church  passed  to  a  new  clay.  He 
laid  the  foundation  for  another  to  build 
upon.  The  faithful  labors  of  a  real  servant 
of  God  will  never  cease  to  me  rewarded. 
Years  after  their  dust  have  mingled  with 
mother  earth,  God  picks  up  their  influence 
and  blesses  it  to  the  salvation  of  the  living. 
Four  thousand  years  after  Abel  was  dead 
and  his  sepulcher  lost,  it  is  said  of  him  that 
he  "yet  speaketh."  Not  until  the  last  trump 
shall  sound,  and  the  dead  raised,  shall  we 
know  the  good  that  the  old  servants  of 
God  did  by  planting  the  little  branch  here 
which  has  grown  to  be  such  a  great  tower 
of  strength. 

When  you  think  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Kings  Mountain,  please  do  not 
forget  Matheny,  J.  E.  McManaway,  Dr. 
Hickson,  P.  G.  Hopper,  T.  Bright,  Jacob 
Hoyle,  and  Albert  M.  Ross.  They  were  the 
seven  who  brought  the  church   over  the 

179 


nineties  and  made  it  possible  for  the  rest  of 
the  work  to  be  done. 


180 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE  PASTORS  WHO  SERVED  FROM 
1901  UNTIL  1925 

Rev.  A.  H.  Sims,  Rev.  J.  J.  Beach,  Rev. 
J.  M.  Hamrick,  Rev.  J.  G.  Graham,  Rev, 
John  R.  Miller,  Rev.  W.  R.  Beach,  Rev.  J. 
O.  Fulbright,  Rev,  Walter  N.  Johnson,  D. 
D.,  Rev.  C.  J.  Black, 


The  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century 
marked  a  new  day  for  The  Baptist  church 
at  Kings  Mountain.  Rev,  A.  M.  Ross  had 
been  with  the  church  the  longest  any  pas* 
tor  had  served  up  to  this  time,  and  he  had 
just  resigned  to  go  to  the  seminary.  The 
next  step  was  to  call  a  man  who  could  pick 
up  where  he  laid  down.  Whom  could  the 
church  secure?  Preachers  were  scarce 
then,  and  the  church  was  small  and  weak, 
What  steps  should  they  take?  They  cast 
about  and  located  Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  who  had 
been  preaching  in  Western  North  Carolina 
for  some  years.  He  was  called  the  latter 
part  of  1900,  and  took  charge  of  the  work 
the  first  of  January  1901.  He  preached  two 
Sundays  a  month  for  the  church.  They 
were  the  second  and  fourth  Sundays.  He 
served  Bethlehem  on  the  first  Sunday  and 
Pattersons  Grove  the  third  Sunday.  This 

181 


REV.  A.  H.  SIMS 


182 


gave  him  full  time  work,  and  was  a  very 
fine  field  for  that  day. 

The  work  started  off  with  much  enthusi- 
asm, and  it  was  not  long  before  things  be- 
gan to  look  encouraging.  The  crowds  were 
fine,  and  every  phase  of  the  work  took  on 
new  life.  He  baptised  eleven  the  first  year, 
received  thirty  three  by  letter,  and  restor- 
ed three,  and  made  a  net  gain  of  forty  one 
for  the  year.  The  total  membership  then 
w1as  one  hundred  and  ninety  seven,  his  sal- 
ary three  hundred  dollars,  and  he  had  four 
hundred  and  ten  dollars  worth  of  repairs 
done  during  that  year.  The  total  amount 
raised  for  all  objects  for  the  year  was  thir- 
teen hundred  dollars.  This  was  the  best 
year  the  church  had  ever  seen.  Additional 
Sunday  School  rooms  had  been  built  during 
the  year,  and  a  baptistry  had  been  built  in 
the  church. 

The  second  year  of  his  ministry  here  was 
successful  also.  He  baptised  twenty  two,  re- 
ceived fifteen  by  letter,  but  dismissed  sev- 
enteen by  letter,  excluded  one,  and  one 
died.  The  net  gain  for  the  year  was  eigh- 
teen. Some  mistake  was  made  in  the  figur- 
es for  the  year.  The  minutes  for  1901 
show  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and 
niney  seven,  but  1902  shows  a  membership 
of  only  one  hundred  and  thirty  three. 
Ihere   must   have  been  a   mistake  some- 

183 


where.  A  gain  of  eighteen  over  one  hund- 
red and  ninety  seven  would  have  made  the 
membership  two  hundred  and  fifteen. 
Nothing  is  said  about  how  the  decrease 
came  about.  It  ought  not  to  have  been  so. 
Some  explanation  ought  to  have  been  made, 
but  it  was  not. 

The  finances  for  this  year  came  up  very 
good  once  more.  One  hundred  and  thirty 
nine  dollars  were  spent  for  building  and 
repairs,  and  five  hundred  and  seventy  sev- 
en dollars  and  sixty  cents  were  raised  for 
all  objects. 

The  third  year  of  his  pastorate  here  was 
one  of  the  best  year's  work  the  church  has 
ever  known.  This  was  the  year  of  the  great 
revival.  The  very  atmosphere  seemed 
charged  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  Ninety 
eight  were  baptised,  twenty  six  received  by 
letter,  and  one  was  restored.  The  total  gain 
was  one  hundred  and  twenty  five.  The  net 
gain  for  the  year  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  The  membership  at  the  close  of  the 
associational  year  was  two  hundred  and 
fifty  three,  the  largest  in  the  church's 
history.  The  pastor's  salary  remained  three 
hundred  dollars  all  of  this  time,  but  this 
year  showed  a  marked  increase  in  the 
amount  of  money  raised.  Five  hundred  and 
twenty  three  dollars  were  raised  for  all 
objects  this  year.    This  was  the  best  the 

184 


church  had  done  since  the  first  year  of  his 
ministry  when  they  made  more  than  four 
hundred  dollars  worth  of  repairs. 

The  fourth  year  of  Rev.  Sims'  pastorate 
was  a  great  one  too.  The  time  of  preaching 
was  changed  from  the  second  and  fourth 
to  the  first  and  third  Sundays. 

This  change  must  have  been  made  to  fit 
some  other  appointment.  He  served  Beth- 
lehem this  year,  but  did  not  serve  any 
other  church  in  this  association.  He  bap- 
tised fourteen  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
church  this  year  and  received  twenty  three 
by  letter,  making  a  gain  of  thirty  seven. 
The  net  gain  for  the  year  was  twenty  six 
and  the  total  membership  two  hundred 
and  seventy  nine. 

The  pastor's  salary  for  this  year  was 
only  two  hundred  and  twenty  five  dollars, 
but  the  largest  amount  was  raised  for  all 
objects  the  church  had  raised  up  to  this 
time.  This  year  it  was  six  hundred  and 
thirty  six  dollars.  The  association  met  with 
this  church  this  year,  and  new  seats  were 
bought  and  put  in  before  the  association 
met. 

The  fifth  year  of  the  ministry  of  Rev. 
Sims  at  Kings  Mountain  marked  a  new 
day  indeed.  The  church  decided  to  go  to 
every  Sunday  preaching,  but  the  salary 
was  not  raised  but  seventy  five  dollars,  and 

185  ' 


was  no  more  than  it  had  been  before.  This 
year  only  six  were  baptised  and  seven  re- 
ceived by  letter.  The  membership  sustain- 
ed a  loss  of  eleven,  leaving  the  membership 
two  hundred  and  sixty  eight  and  the 
church  raised  five  hundred  and  sixty  five 
dollars  and  sixty  cents  for  all  objects. 

The  sixth  and  last  year  of  Rev.  Sims' 
ministry  was  not  below  the  average  he  had 
made  for  the  previous  five  years  of  his 
services  at  Kings  Mountain.  He  preached 
here  twice  a  month  for  this  year,  and  bap- 
tised six  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church, 
received  twenty  one  by  letter,  but  dismiss- 
ed eight  by  letter,  and  two  died,  leaving  a 
gain  of  seventeen.  The  membership  at  this 
time  was  two  hundred  and  eighty  five. 

The  church  minutes  are  very  incomplete 
for  the  years  of  1903  and  1904.  There  is 
not  anything  said  about  services  during 
the  year  of  i903.  The  entire  year  was  miss- 
ed in  the  record  book,  but  no  causes  is  giv- 
en as  to  why  the  church  had  no  conferen- 
ces. 

The  six  years  of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  A. 
H.  Sims  may  be  summed  up  as  six  years  of 
growth.  They  marked  a  new  and  better 
day  for  the  Master's  work  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  was  born  in  Towns  coun- 
ty, Georgia,  June  6th.,  1855.     His  parents 

186 


were  John  Littleton  Sims  and  Sarah  Ann 
Byers  Sims. 

Rev.  Sims  is  a  great  grand  son  of  Elder 
Joseph  Byers,  who  was  a  colaborer  with 
Elder  Humphrey  Posey.  He  is  a  grand  son 
of  Elder  Robert  Byers.  He  was  reared  in 
the  state  of  Georgia,  the  state  with  more 
than  one  half  of  its  population  Baptists. 

He  was  converted  in  October  1869  at 
Tekoah  Baptist  church,  Fanning  county, 
Georgia,  and  was  baptised  by  his  grand- 
father, Robert  Byers,  the  first  Sunday  in 
October  1869.  He  was  called  to  preach  ear- 
ly in  life  and  was  ordained  at  Shoals  Creek 
Baptist  church,  Jackson  county,  North 
Carolina,  October  10th.,  1881.  The  presby- 
tery was  composed  of  Elders  E.  D.  Grind- 
ell  and  W.  H.  Conner.  He  has  served  the 
following  churches;  Oconee  Lutta,  Swain 
county,  N.  C,  Shoals  Creek,  Jackson  coun- 
ty, N.  C,  Scotts  Creek,  Jackson  county,  N. 
C,  Webster,  Jackson,  N.  C.  Webster  was 
the  county  seat  when  he  was  pastor  there. 
He  also  served  Cullowhee,  Jackson  county, 
N.  C,  Dillsboro,  Jackson  county,  N.  C.  He 
organized  Dillsboro  Baptist  church.  He  or- 
ganized Sylva  and  was  pastor  there  for 
some  time.  He  was  pastor  at  Clyde,  Hay- 
wood  county,  N.  C,  Franklin,  Macon  coun- 
ty, N.  C,  and  was  missionary  in  Jackson 
county  under  the  direction  of  the  Tucka- 

187 


seegee  Baptist  association.  He  served  in 
this  capacity  for  one  year.  He  moved  to 
Kings  Mountain  in  1901  to  take  charge  of 
the  First  Baptist  church  of  this  place. 
Since  coming  to  the  Kings  Mountain  as- 
sociation he  has  served  the  following  Bap- 
tist churches ;  Bethlehem,  Patterson  Grove, 
and  Elizabeth.  At  the  close  of  his  pastorate 
here,  he  went  to  West  End  Baptist  church, 
Asheville,  where  he  was  pastor  for  some 
time.  He  came  to  Shelby  in  1908  and  be- 
came pastor  of  Popular  Springs,  Beaver 
Dam,  Mt.  Pleasant,  and  in  Rutherford 
county,  Southern  Baptist  church  near 
Rutherfordton,  Bostic,  and  Bessemer  City, 
in  Gaston.  He  is  not  active  any  more,  but 
is  still  strong  and  vigorous.  He  preaches 
occasionally,  and  holds  meetings  as  he  is 
invited  by  the  brethren  to  assist  them. 

He  is  a  fine  business  man,  and  has  made 
money  dealing  in  real  estate.  His  throat 
has  given  him  considerable  trouble,  and 
because  of  this  he  has  been  engaged  in 
business  for  the  past  few  years. 

He  has  been  married  twice.  His  first 
wife  was  Miss  Sarah  Hannah  Maney.  Two 
children  were  born  to  this  union.  Both  are 
living,  one  in  Charlotte,  the  other  in  Rich- 
mond, Va. 

His  second  marriage  was  to  Miss  Mary 
Robinson.  Two  children  have  been  added  to 

188 


this  union  also.  Both  of  them  are  living. 
One  of  them,  a  son,  who  works  in  a  Gaston- 
ia  bank,  and  the  other,  Miss  Gladys,  who 
lives  with  her  parents.  She  is  one  of  the 
teachers  in  the  City  High  School. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Beach  succeeded  Rev.  A.  H. 
Sims  as  pastor  of  The  First  Baptist  church. 
Beach  was  called  July  8th.,  1907,  at  a  salary 
of  five  hundred  dollars.  At  first  the  church 
decided  that  they  would  have  every  Sunday 
preaching,  but  by  some  means,  they  de- 
cided that  they  would  not  have  but  half 
time  services.  At  a  meeting  held  July  3rd., 
the  church  decided  that  they  would  have 
full  time  preaching  and  pay  their  pastor 
nine  hundred  dollars,  but  when  the  call  was 
made  July  8th,  the  recommendation  was 
rescinded,  and  so  Beach  took  charge  of  the 
church  for  half  time  services.  He  preached 
here  the  first  and  third  Sundays  in  each 
month. 

The  first  year  of  Beach's  services  was 
well  taken.  He  added  eighty  one  members, 
twenty  three  by  baptism,  fifty  four  by  let- 
ter, and  restored  four.  The  membership  at 
the  close  of  the  first  year  was  three  hund- 
red and  ninety  nine.  The  church  paid  five 
hundred  dollars  pastor's  salary  that  year, 
and  gave  four  hundred  and  five  dollars  to 
all  of  the  objects  of  the  Convention.  This 
was  one  of  the  best  years  in  the  history  of 

189 


REV,  J.  J.  BEACH 


190 


the  church. 

The  second  year  of  Beach's  ministry  was 
very  good  also.  He  baptised  twenty  eight 
and  received  fifty  five  by  letter,  making 
a  total  of  eighty  eight  received  during  the 
year. 

I  he  church  paid  six  hundred  and  forty 
two  dollars  and  twelve  cents  to  all  objects. 

The  third  year  of  his  ministry,  1909,  was 
not  so  great  along  evangelistic  lines  as  the 
former  years,  but  you  cannot  tell  what  a 
man  is  doing  by  the  number  of  members 
he  receives.  Sometimes  a  church  needs  in- 
doctrination, or  training  along  some  im- 
portant line  to  get  ready  for  some  other 
great  victory.  This  may  have  been  the  case 
with  Kings  Mountain  this  year.  There  was 
not  but  one  baptism  and  ten  received  by 
letter.  The  membership  at  the  close  of  the 
year  was  three  hundred  and  ninety  three. 

The  church  paid  to  all  objects  of  the 
Convention  including  pastor's  salary  $lr 
570.30.  This  was  the  most  the  church  had 
raised  in  any  one  year  since  its  organiza- 
tion. 

1909  closed  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Beach 
with  the  Kings  Mountain  Baptist  church. 
He  resigned  here  September  14th.,  1909,  as 
he  had  been  called  to  the  pastorate  of  East 
Baptist  church,  Gastonia,  N.  C.  He  moved 
from  Kings  Mountain  to  that  field  and 

191 


preached  there  and  at  Bessemer  City  the 
following  year. 

Let  us  notice  some  of  the  outstanding 
things  that  were  done  during  the  pastor- 
ate of  Rev.  J.  J.  Beach, 

The  first  thing  worth  mentioning  was 
the  purchasing  of  a  lot  upon  which  to  build 
a  parsonage.  The  lot  was  bought  from  C. 
S.  Elam  for  three  hundred  dollars,  he  giv- 
ing one  half  of  the  amount.  This  was  lo- 
cated on  Gaston  Street  just  opposite  Mr. 
Hunter  Patterson's  residence.  At  the  Octo- 
ber conference,  1908,  the  matter  was  taken 
up  and  plans  were  laid  for  the  building 
and  all  financial  considerations.  The  par- 
sonage was  to  cost  not  over  $1,250  and  was 
to  be  built  at  once.  The  parsonage  was 
built,  and  Rev.  Beach  lived  in  it  for  some 
time  before  he  left  here  for  Gastonia. 

The  second  outstanding  thing  was  the 
purchasing  of  two  lots,  one  on  Piedmont 
Street  south  of  the  church,  50  x  150  feet 
for  $250,  and  the  Mag  Smith  lot  facing- 
Mountain  Street  65  x  100  feet,  for  $1,350, 
making  $1,600  in  all. 

The  third  thing  worth  while  that  was 
done  while  Beach  was  pastor  here  was  the 
beginning  of  a  building  fund  for  the  pur- 
pose of  erecting  a  new  church  house.  A 
building  committee  was  appointed  at  the 
July  conference,  which  met  July  3rd.,  1907, 

192 


to  lay  plans  for  the  erection  of  a  new  build- 
ing. The  committee  was  composed  of  the 
following  brethren;  G.  W.  Kendrick,  For- 
est Floyd,  J.  C.  Baumgardner,  and  C.  S. 
Elam.  This  committee  was  continued  from 
time  to  time  until  it  was  dismissed  with- 
out anything  being  done,  but  a  resolution 
was  carried  which  began  a  fund  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  house.  Many  of  the 
members  paid  their  little  amounts  week  by 
week  until  they  had  a  fund  sufficient  to 
begin  the  church  with. 

The  church  had  all  kinds  of  difficulties 
to  contend  with,  but  Beach's  pastorate 
here  was  a  great  success. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Beach  is  a  real  man.  He  has 
been  preaching  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
and  has  served  churches  in  several  states, 
and  in  many  counties  in  this  state.  He  was 
superintendent  of  evangelism  in  the  state 
of  South  Carolina  for  some  years,  and  serv- 
ed as  pastor  in  several  places  in  South 
Carolina.  His  last  pastorate  was  at  Bishop- 
ville.  He  went  from  there  to  Cherryville 
where  he  is  now  pastor.  He  has  done  a 
wonderful  work  there,  but  it  has  been  aw- 
fully hard  for  him.  The  church  was  so 
greatly  involved  because  of  their  new 
church  building. 

He  was  pastor  at  East  Baptist  church, 
Gastonia,   for  six  years  and  did  a  most 

193 


noble  work  there.  When  he  left  that  church, 
it  was  one  of  the  best  organized  Baptist 
churches  in  the  state. 

Beach  is  a  real  Baptist  and  is  not  asham- 
ed that  he  is.  He  is  one  of  the  best  gospel 
preachers  in  the  south,  and  one  of  the  best 
posted  men  along  historical  and  doctrinal 
lines  to  be  found  in  the  state.  He  is  a  great 
polemic,  and  delights  in  a  debate  along  de- 
nominational, or  doctrinal  lines.  He  and  a 
Methodist  preacher,  C.  H.  Curtis,  held  a 
two  days  debate  at  Maiden  some  years  ago, 
(November  1911.)  Those  who  heard  the  de- 
bate say  that  Beach  came  out  far  the  win- 
ner. 

Beach  is  now  fifty  four  years  old,  but  is 
still  strong  and  can  preach  as  vigorously 
as  he  did  ten  years  ago. 

He  takes  an  active  part  in  the  work  of 
his  association,  and  holds  several  revival 
meetings  every  year. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Hamrick  succeeded  Rev.  J.  J. 
Beach  at  Kings  Mountain.  He  took  charge 
January  16th,  1910,  and  served  just  a  few 
months.  The  clerk's  book  shows  that  he 
served  four  months,  but  he  may  have  serv- 
ed a  little  longer  than  that.  He  did  not  fit 
this  pastorate  at  all,  by  some  means.  The 
only  thing  he  did  while  here  was  to  have 
three  deacons  elected  and  ordained.  These 
were  G.  D.  Hambright,  D.  F.  Herd,  and 

194 


Forest  Floyd.  Bethlehem,  Patterson  Grove, 
Bessemer  City,  Grover,  and  East  Gastonia 
Were  invited  to  assist  in  the  ordination  of 
the  above  mentioned  brethren. 

The  church  decided  to  celebrate  the 
Lord's  Supper  the  first  of  every  quarter 
while  he  was  here,  and  nothing  more  was 
done  by  him  that  the  records  say  anything 
about. 

He  moved  from  here  to  Boiling  Springs, 
where  he  taught  for  some  time.  He  has 
served  several  important  churches  since 
that  time.  He  was  pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist church  of  Lexington  for  a  few  years, 
and  went  from  there  to  Gaffney,  S.C.  where 
he  served  Cherokee  Avenue  Baptist  church 
for  several  years.  He  is  now  pastor  of  Fair- 
mont Baptist  church,  Richmond,  Virginia. 
He  did  a  splendid  work  at  all  of  the  last 
mentioned  places,  but  his  health  has  given 
way  on  him,  and  his  days  are  fast  being 
numbered.  He  suffered  a  stroke  of  paraly- 
sis last  winter,  (1926),  and  is  not  able  to  do 
much  work  at  this  time.  A  sketch  of  his 
life  cannot  be  had  at  this  time.  If  it  can  be 
secured  before  this  manuscript  goes  to 
press,  it  will  be  added  as  a  foot  note". 

Rev.  J.  G.  Graham  followed  Rev.  J.  M. 
Hamrick.  He  was  called  July  24,  1910.  But 

*He  failed  to  reply  to  all  the  letters  of  inquiry  I  wrote 
'so  his  .photograph  and  life  sleet  ah.  has  to  be  emitted. 


195 


REV.  J.  O-  GRAHAM 


196 


did  not  take  charge  until  the  following 
September. 

He  did  not  baptise  any  one  while  he  was 
pastor  here,  but  received  twenty  two  by 
letter.  The  church  reported  three  hundred 
and  eighty  one  members  to  the  association. 

The  church  paid  him  two  hundred  and 
twenty  seven  dollars  for  his  services,  and 
four  hundred  and  fifty  nine  dollars  and 
ninety  cents  to  the  objects  of  the  Conven- 
tion. 

Rev.  Graham  resigned  August  20th., 
1911,  his  resignation  to  take  effect  three 
months  later. 

His  work  was  not  satisfactory,  or  some- 
thing went  wrong  with  him  and  the 
church.  He  had  a  most  wonderful  wife,  the 
people  say,  but  he  was  rather  careless  and 
allowed  things  to  go  as  they  wished.  His 
wife's  sister,  Miss  Ethel  Eubanks,  lived 
with  them  while  they  were  here.  She  was  a 
good  B.  Y.  P.   U.  worker. 

Nothing  is  known  of  Rev.  Graham  at 
this  time.  His  name  is  not  in  any  of  the  di- 
rectories of  the  Baptist  preachers  of  the 
south.  He  must  be  some  where  in  the 
Northern  Convention.  If  he  could  have 
been  found,  possibly  a  sketch  of  his  life 
and  work  could  have  been  given,  but  since 
he  cannot  be  found,  it  is  impossible. 

He  had  a  hard  time  of  it  while  here.  He 
197 


had  a  little  dog  that  was  bitten  by  a  mad 
dog,  and  went  mad  from  it.  The  little  dog 
bit  him  and  one  of  his  children,  and  they 
had  to  go  to  Atlanta  for  treatment.  He, 
like  most  of  the  Baptist  preachers,  was 
very  poor,  but  the  people  made  up  enough 
money  to  send  him  and  his  family  to  At- 
lanta, so  they  received  treatment  for  hy- 
drophobia. Ihey  soon  returned,  but  they 
never  could  get  things  to  going  as  they 
should  have  been,  and  they  left  here  for 
another  field  of  labor. 

The  following  information  was  received 
after  the  above  was  written; 

Rev.  J.  G.  Graham  was  born  in  Anderson 
county,  South  Carolina,  January  26,  1883. 
He  was  reared  in  South  Carolina  and  at- 
tended the  public  schools  at  Oakdale,  and 
Townville,  S.  C.  After  leaving  high  school 
at  Townville,  he  went  to  Furman  Univer- 
sity where  he  took  special  work  for  one 
year.  He  also  took  some  work  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  South  Carolina.  He  graduated 
from  the  Moody  Bible  Institute,  Chicago, 
1908. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Bertha  Eubanks 
of  Seneca,  South  Carolina,  January  31, 
1909. 

He  went  from  Kings  Mountain  to  Caro- 
leen  Baptist  church  where  he  served  ac- 
ceptably for  five  years ;  from  there  he  was 

198 


called  to  King  Street  Baptist  church,  Char- 
leston, South  Carolina,  where  he  served 
for  five  years.  He  was  then  called  to  the 
First  Baptist  church  at  Camilla,  Georgia, 
where  he  has  been  for  the  past  three  years. 
He  is  still  vigorous  and  is  doing  a  most 
noble  work. 

His  pastorate  here  closed  the  first  of 
1911,  and  the  church  was  without  a  pastor 
for  nearly  six  months.  They  did  not  have 
regular  services,  and  the  only  preaching 
they  had  was  by  those  they  could  pick  up 
occasionally  from  other  places.  No  call  was 
made  until  March  1912.  At  this  time,  a  call 
was  extended  Rev.  John  R.  Miller  of  High 
Point.  The  call  was  accepted,  and  Rev.  Mil- 
ler took  charge  of  the  work  the  fourth 
Sunday  in  April  1912.  He  was  called  to 
serve  two  Sundays  in  each  month  at  a  sal- 
ary of  five  hundred  dollars  per  year.  Broth- 
er Miller  was  one  of  the  very  best  men  the 
state  afforded,  and  his  Godly  family  meant 
a  blessing  to  the  entire  community  when 
they  moved  here. 

The  first  year  of  Rev.  Miller's  work  at 
Kings  Mountain  was  very  successful.  He 
held  a  meeting  in  June  of  that  year  and 
the  following  young  people  joined  the 
church  and  were  baptised;  John  Floyd, 
Fannie  Carpenter,  Ethel  Parker,  Effie 
Wright,   Louise   Cornwell,     and  Luther 

199 


REV.  JOHN  K.  MILLER 


200 


Davis.  These  were  all  baptised  at  the  close 
of  the  evening  service  June  8th.,  1912. 

He  baptised  six  during  the  year  and  re- 
ceived fifteen  by  letter.  The  membership  of 
the  church  at  the  close  of  the  year  was 
three  hundred  and  fifty  one. 

The  church  did  not  raise  very  much 
money  for  missions  during  the  year.  They 
paid  their  pastor  five  hundred  dollars  and 
gave  one  hundred  and  fifty  six  dollars  and 
eighteen  cents  to  the  objects  of  the  Con- 
vention. 

During  the  month  of  November,  1912, 
Rev.  Farley  D.  King,  a  Home  Board  evan- 
gelist held  a  meeting  for  Rev.  Miller,  and 
many  were  added  to  the  church,  both  by 
letter  and  baptism.  The  meeting  lasted 
from  November  3rd  to  15th.  It  seemed  to 
have  helped  the  church  and  community 
very  much.  Twenty  were  received  by  let- 
ter and  thirty  nine  by  baptism.  Our  pres- 
ent clerk  was  baptised  at  the  close  of  this 
meeting. 

The  second  year  of  his  ministry  here 
showed  a  marked  increase  in  the  member- 
ship of  the  church  because  of  the  meeting 
held  the  fall  of  1912.  The  report  of  this 
meeting  did  not  go  to  the  association  until 
the  next  fall.  The  report  showed  forty  one 
baptised  and  twenty  five  received  by  let- 
ter, and  a  net  gain  of  fifty  two  for  the  en- 

201 


tire  year.  A  total  of  fourteen  hundred 
and  ten  dollars  and  ninety  seven  cents  was 
raised  during  the  year.  Much  of  this 
amount  was  for  the  new  church  building. 
Since  this  was  such  an  important  under- 
taking, a  full  account  of  the  whole  transac- 
tion will  be  given  here. 

THE  NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING  AND 
HOW  IT  CAME. 
The  first  mention  of  a  new  church 
building  was  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
J.  J.  Beach,  but  by  some  means,  the  mem- 
bers could  not  be  gotten  into  line  enough  to 
begin  the  building  until  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  R.  Miller.  One,  or  two  committees 
were  appointed,  but  they  did  not  accom- 
plish anything,  and  were  discharged.  A  lit- 
tle money  was  raised,  but  not  enough  to 
build  a  church,  or  even  to  begin  to  build 
one,  but  the  idea  seized  some  of  the  mem- 
bers so  forcefully  that  they  did  not  give  up 
the  matter,  but  held  to  it  until  another 
chance  came  for  them  to  undertake  the 
building  in  dead  earnest,  so  in  a  confer- 
once  held  November  24th.,  1912,  the  follow- 
ing brethren  were  appointed  to  report  to 
the  church  Wednesday  evening  November 
28th.,  plans  for  the  church,  and  plans  by 
which  the  necessary  funds  for  building  the 
church,  could  be  raised;  Forest  Floyd,  G. 

202 


NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING 


203 


W.  Kendrick,  G.  D.  Hambright,  N.  F.  Mc- 
Millen,  J.  R.  Roberts,  W.  H.  Caldwell,  and 
D.  F.  Hord.  The  matter  was  not  disposed 
of  at  the  called  meeting  Wednesday  even- 
ing following,  but  was  postponed  until  De- 
cember 8th.  following.  At  this  meeting  the 
plans  for  the  building  were  left  with  the 
Women's  Missionary  Society,  and  the  fol- 
lowing report  from  the  committee  appoint- 
ed at  the  conference  held  November  24th. 
was  submitted  to  the  church; 

The  committeee  appointed  to  draft  plans 
for  raising  money  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
church  house  reports  as  follows; 

We,  the  undersigned  members  of  the 
committee  appointed  by  the  Kings  Moun- 
tain Baptist  church  to  recommend  a  plan 
to  the  church  to  raise  the  necessary  funds 
to  erect  a  new  church  building,  do  submit 
the  following. 

1— That  we  issue  certificates  of  stock 
(par  value  $50.00  each)  to  be  paid  for  as 
follows;  $5.00  per  share  January  1st.,  1913, 
and  one  dollar  per  week  per  share  until 
said  shares  are  paid  for. 
2. — That  all  funds  other  than  regular  pay- 
ments on  stock  solicited  from  any  and  all 
persons  be  put  in  a  general  fund  to  be 
known  as  a  sick  benefit  fund,  to  be  used  to 
keep  up  the  payments  of  any  subscriber 

while  physically  unable  for  duty.  This  not 

90 1 


to  prohibit  any  one  from  contributing  to 
the  payment  of  another's  share,  or  shares; 
provided  said  contribution  is  made  direct 
from  the  contributor  to  the  treasurer  of 
the  building  fund,  or  a  solicitor  appointed 
by  the  church. 

3.  — That  the  church  secure  the  services  of 
some  suitable  person  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  collect  from  all  delinquent  subscribers 
once  each  week,  and  solicit  further  contri- 
butions as  the  church  may  direct. 

4.  — That  the  minimum  number  of  shares 
shall  be  one  hundred  and  sixty. 

5 .  —That  the  church  have  not  less  than  one 
thousand  application  blanks  of  the  follow- 
ing form  printed  to  be  used  by  all  appli- 
cants for  shares; 

IN  HUMBLE  COMMEMORATION  OF 
WHAT  CHRIST  HAS  DONE  FOR  ME, 
AND  AS  A  PLEDGE  OF  MY  FIDELITY 
TO  HIS  CAUSE  IN  THE  FUTURE,  I 
ASK  OF  THE  KINGS  MOUNTAIN  BAP- 
TIST CHURCH  THE    PRIVILEGE  OF 

BUYING   SHARSE  IN  A 

NEW  CHURCH  BUILDING  TO  BE 
ERECTED  WHERE  THE  OLD  BUILD- 
ING NOW  STANDS.  I  AGREE  TO  PAY 
FIVE  DOLLARS  PER  SHARE  JAN- 
UAY  1st.,  1913,  AND  ONE  DOLLAR  PER 
SHARE  EACH  WEEK  UNTIL  SAID 
SHARES  ARE  PAID  FOR,  PAR  VALUE 

205 


OF  EACH  SHARE  FIFTY  DOLLARS. 
SIGNED, 
FOREST  FLOYD 
N.  F.  McMILLEN 
G.  W.  KENDRICK 
D.  F.  HORD 
W.  H.  CALDWELL 
J.  R.  REYNOLDS. 
The  report  was  adopted  in  full  and  the 
pastor  was  empowered  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  execute  the  plans.  The  same  com- 
mittee was  continued  with    one  addition, 
this  was  M.  E.  Herndon. 

The  church  house  question  was  very 
much  agitated  at  this  time.  All  seemed  to 
be  thinking  about  it,  and  nothing  else.  The 
most  that  was  done  in  conferences  was 
concerning  the  new  church  building. 

rlhe  following  resolution  dratted  by 
Brother  D.  F.  Hord  was  adopted  Sunday 
morning  February  9th.,  1913; 

"Whereas,  it  is  the  consensus  of  opinion 
of  the  membership  of  Kings  Mountain  Bap- 
tist church,  that  we  are  going  to  erect  a 
new  church  buildmg;  and  whereas,  steps 
have  been  taken  pursuant  to  raising  funds 
and  commencing  work  for  the  erection  of  a 
new  church  building;  and 
"Whereas,  in  order  that  the  work  be  com- 
menced and  carried  to  completion  as  is  the 
wish  and  desire  of  every  member  of  the 

20G 


church,  it  is  necessary  that  there  be  & 
managing  body  to  put  into  action  the  work 
and  efforts  of  the  several  committees  now 
appointed,  or  such  as  may  be  hereafter  ap- 
pointed; Now,  therefore,  be  it  resolved, 
that  the  church  nominate  and  elect  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  five  of  the  male  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  take  in  charge,  from  and  after  the  rat- 
ification of  this  resolution  and  after  the 
church  submits  plans  and  specifications  of 
the  building  to  be  erected,  the  active  du- 
ties of  securing  material  and  labor,  and  to 
have  the  supervision  and  control  of  the 
church  building,  and  to  push  forward  the 
work  as  rapidly  as  possible ;  it  is  further, 

Resolved  that  said  committee  shall  elect 
one  of  its  members  chairman,  and  hold  its 
meetings  as  often  as  necessary. 

That  three  of  its  members  shall  consti- 
tute a  quorum,  and  such  action  taken  in 
any  meeting  when  three  members  of  said 
committee  are  present  shall  be  final  and 
binding  on  all  members ; 

That  the  duties  of  said  committee  shall 
commence  only  when  funds  are  placed  in 
their  hands  with  which  to  commence  work, 
and  at  any  time  during  the  building  if  the 
church  fail  to  provide  funds  for  said  build- 
ing, it  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  committee 
to  suspend  work,  report  to  the  church  and 

207 


take  no  further  action  in  building  until  in- 
structed by  the  church.  It  is  further  re- 
solved ; 

That  the  entire  membership  of  the 
church  assist  said  committee  in  any  way 
that  said  committee  may  ask,  in  so  far  as 
they  are  able  to  do. 

This  resolution  shall  be  in  force  from  and 
after  its  ratification  by  the  church  as  a 
whole." 

The  resolution  was  accepted  and  adopted 
February  9th.,  1913,  and  the  following 
building  committee  was  appointed;  G.  D. 
Hambright,  I.  A.  McGill,  M.  E.  Herndon, 
and  W.  T.  Parker.  D.  F.  Hord  was  elected 
treasurer  of  the  committee. 

In  the  conference  of  March,  1913,  the 
church  instructed  the  committee  to  begin 
work  at  once  provided  five  thousand  dol- 
lars had  been  subscribed  and  two  thousand 
paid  in,  but  this  was  not  done  until  the  fol- 
lowing July.  The  report  of  the  finance 
committee  made  to  the  church  in  conferen- 
ce June  11th.,  stated  that  $4,200.00  had 
been  subscribed  to  the  new  building,  and 
that  $2,400.00  of  this  amount  was  available 
at  any  time.  This  met  the  requirements  of 
the  resolution  that  was  passed  sometime 
before,  and  so  the  building  committee  be- 
gan at  once  to  get  ready  for  action,  but  be- 
fore the  old  building  could  be  torn  down, 

208 


a  meeting  piace  must  be  secured.  Brethren 
M.  E.  Herndon,  N.  F.  McMillen,  and  Forest 
Floyd,  were  appointed  to  secure  a  suitable 
place.  No  report  is  made  in  the  records,  as 
to  wha^  they  did  but  it  has  been  stated  to 
the  writer  that  they  secured  the  high 
school  auditorium  for  the  use  of  the  church 
while  the  new  building  was  being  con- 
structed. 

The  old  building  was  torn  down  July  4th. 
Brother  D.  F.  Hord  pulled  the  first  plank 
off  of  the  building.  This  was  a  great  day  for 
the  Baptists  of  Kings  Mountain.  The  old 
building  that  had  been  so  sacred  to  the 
original  members  became  a  heap  of  rub- 
bish. It  had  served  its  day  and  purpose, 
now  that  it  was  out  of  date,  it  must  be  set 
aside.  Every  thing  has  its  day;  even  the 
preacher  has  to  step  aside  when  his  day  is 
over,  but  is  this  not  one  of  the  saddest 
things  to  think  of?  Out  of  use,  no  longer 
needed.  "Good  Bye",  so  the  old  house  where 
the  honored  saints  of  God  had  met  so  often, 
the  one  they  had  worked  so  hard  to  erect, 
was  a  thing  of  the  past.  When  the  old 
building  was  out  of  the  way,  the  work  on 
the  new  building  was  begun  at  once,  and 
for  nine  months  the  work  continued  until 
the  basement  of  the  new  church  was  made 
ready  for  services.  So  on  April  12th.,  1914, 
they  held  their  first  service  in  it.  This  was 

209 


&  glad  day  for  both  pastor  and  people* 
They  had  been  holding  services  regularly 
all  of  the  nine  months  they  had  been  away, 
but  they  could  not  enjoy  them  as  they  did 
at  home.  The  main  auditorium  was  not  yet 
completed.  They  did  not  have  the  conven- 
ience they  needed  to  take  care  of  the  ser- 
vices. They  still  had  much  to  do  before 
they  could  feel  easy  over  the  undertaking, 
The  first  service  held  in  the  auditorium 
was  a  baptismal  service.  Two  young  ladies, 
Miss  Ruth  Baumgardner  and  her  neice, 
Miss  Ruth  Baker  had  been  approved  for 
baptism  more  than  a  year,  so  the  brethren 
made  ready  the  new  baptistry  and  on  June 
the  8th.  they  were  baptised  in  the  new  bap- 
tistry. The  pews  had  not  been  placed  in  the 
new  auditorium,  so  tlr  3  congregation  stood 
for  the  service.  This  was  a  singular  ser- 
vice, two  baptised,  both  of  thern  named 
Ruth,  and  one  the  neice  of  the  other.  One 
was  the  baby  girl  of  one  family,  the  other 
was  both  baby  girl  and  the  only  girl  in  the 
family. 

The  church  continued  to  hold  services  in 
the  basement  for  more  than  a  year.  Many 
things  came  up  for  consideration  during 
this  time.  It  was  evident  that  Sunday 
School  rooms  would  have  to  be  arranged  in 
the  basement,  but  where  should  they  be 
placed?     At  one  time  a  motion  was  made 

210 


that  they  be  built  on  the  west  side  of  the 
basement,  but  this  motion  was  voted  down. 
Some  time  after  this,  when  it  became  nec- 
essary that  they  have  more  room  for  the 
Sunday  School,  some  one  made  a  motion 
that  the  rooms  be  built  on  the  east  side  of 
the  basement,  so  this  time  the  motion  car- 
ried, and  the  rooms  were  built. 

The  Sunday  School  asked  permission  to 
build  steps  in  front  of  the  main  building, 
and  the  request  was  granted,  but  the  steps 
were  not  built  for  some  time.  Two  hundred 
dollars  were  raised  for  the  erection  of  the 
steps,  but  the  church  needed  this  so  much 
for  something  else  that  the  Sunday  School 
loaned  the  money  to  the  church  and  took  a 
receipt  for  the  same  to  be  presented  when 
the  steps  were  finished,  to  show  that  the 
Sunday  School  had  built  them.  Thus  the 
work  went  on  until  it  looked  like  they 
would  never  get  to  move  into  the  auditor- 
ium, but  finally  the  building  committee 
took  the  matter  under  consideration  once 
more,  and  a  collection  of  more  than  one 
thousand  dollars  was  raised  with  which  to 
finish  the  main  auditorium  so  that  the  ser- 
vices of  the  church  might  go  on  without 
interruption.  The  work  was  begun  and  the 
pews  bought  so  that  the  church  felt  safe  in 
setting  a  day  for  the  opening  service.  The 
fifth  Sunday  in  August,  1915,  was  the  day 

211 


set  for  the  initial  service.  It  was  decided 
upon  to  invite  all  former  pastors,  all  out 
of  town  members,  all  Baptists  in  the  com- 
munity who  did  not  have  their  membership 
with  the  church,  and  all  friends  who  were 
in  sympathy  with  the  wTork  to  be  present 
that  day.  The  following  minute  recorded 
in  the  records  of  that  day  will  tell  the  story 
better  than  it  can  be  told  by  another; 

"Kings  Mountain  Baptist  Church,  Kings 
Mountain,  N.  C,  August  28th.,  1915,  this 
being  the  day  appointed  for  the  first  ser- 
vice in  the  new  Auditorium,  and  the  weath- 
er being  all  that  could  be  desired  to  assure 
a  successful  day.  A  large  congregation  of 
members  and  visitors  assembled  in  the 
spacious  auditorium  where  at  ten  o'clock 
services  began. 

"The  first  speaker  of  the  day  was  Rev, 
Ben  L.  Hoke  of  Blacksburg,  S.  C.  He  is  an 
old  Kings  Mountain  boy,  although  having 
never  been  pastor  here,  he  grew  up  with 
the  church,  and  his  talk  was  in  the  nature 
of  a  reminiscent  of  the  church  in  its  early 
days.  It  was  thoroughly  em'oyed  by  all. 
4  "Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  of  Shelby,  N.  C,  a 
former  pastor  occupied  the  pulpit  at  the 
eleven  o'clock  hour.  Brother  Sims  was  at 
his  best,  and  the  congregation  was  greatly 
moved  by  his  message  as  was  manifested 
by  the  tear-filled  eyes  from  time  to  time. 

21.2 


Two  other  former  pastors,  Revs.  J.  J. 
Beach  and  J.  M.  Hamrick  were  with  us  and 
occupied  the  pulpit  in  the  evening,  each  of 
them  bringing  strong  gospel  messages. 

"Thus  ended  the  day,  and  we  feel  that 
the  church  has  been  greatly  benefited  by 
the  visits  of  so  many  of  its  former  pastors 
who  labored  here  in  days  past  and  gone, 
and  helped  to  make  possible  this  splendid 
house  of  worship,  which  by  the  goodness  of 
God  we  are  enabled  to  enjoy." 

Possibly  this  was  the  best  day  the  church 
has  had  since  it  first  entered  the  old 
church  building  back  in  1892.  Sacrifices 
had  been  made  to  erect  the  building,  and 
now  they  began  to  realize  what  they  had 
done.  Their  hearts  were  full  of  joy,  and  it 
was  not  hard  for  them  to  weep.  Their  cups 
were  already  running  over.  Great  had  been 
their  labors,  but  now  their  joy  was  still 
greater. 

The  new  building  was  not  completed 
when  they  had  the  opening  of  the  new  au- 
ditorium, but  it  was  in  a  usuable  condition. 
This  added  so  much  to  the  work.  It  had 
been  so  hard  for  the  church  to  keep  things 
going  without  the  use  of  the  main  auditor- 
ium, but  day  light  was  breaking  now,  and 
the  work  began  to  look  brighter.  The  house 
was  not  completed  until  the  pastorate  of 
3tev.  W,  B.  Beach. 

213 


Another  important  thing  that  took  place 
during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  R.  Miller 
was  the  sale  of  a  part  of  the  lot  that  the 
church  had  bought  during  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  J.  J.  Beach.  At  that  time  a  lot  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  by  fifty  feet  fronting  Pied- 
mont Street,  and  another  lot  sixty  five  feet 
by  one  hundred  feet,  facing  Mountain 
Street  was  bought  for  sixteen  hundred 
dollars.  These  lots  were  very  valuable,  but 
the  church  needed  funds  so  much  to  pay 
some  outstanding  accounts  which  were 
due  that  it  looked  like  the  lots  had  to  be 
sold.  M.  E,  Herndon  was  appointed  to  get 
bids  on  the  lots,  and  these  bids  were  re- 
ported to  the  church  for  consideration  and 
ratification.  The  matter  hung  for  a  long 
time,  as  it  was  hard  for  the  brethren  to  let 
the  lots  go,  but  finally  they  did.  It  was  not 
the  best  thing  for  them  to  do,  but  they 
thought  that  it  was  when  they  sold  it.  The 
lot  is  needed  very  much  now,  but  they  can- 
not be  bought  for  any  reasonable  amount. 
Land  has  gone  so  high  in  this  to  wn.  But 
cur  doctrine  is  to  let  the  past  be  the  past. 

Brother  Miller  had  several  outstanding 
revivals  while  he  was  pastor  here.  He  se- 
cured the  help  of  some  of  the  best  preach- 
ers in  the  south  to  assist  him  in  these  meet- 
ings. He  had  such  men  as  Rev.  Farley 
King,  Rev.  R.  G.  Kendrick,    Rev.    3.  5. 

214 


Beach,  and  possibly  others  of  like  stand- 
ing. He  added  a  great  many  of  the  best 
members  the  church  has  on  its  active  list 
today.  He  was  very  safe  in  all  of  his  work, 
and  one  of  the  most  conservative  men  we 
have  in  our  denomination. 

His  first  year's  work  has  already  been 
gone  over  and  reports  of  it  given.  We  now 
take  up  his  work  year  by  year  that  we 
may  see  just  what  he  did  and  when  he  did 
it. 

During  1914,  he  baptised  seven,  received 
eighteen  by  letter,  and  closed  the  associa- 
tional  year  with  four  hundred  and  six 
members.  This  was  the  greatest  member- 
ship that  the  church  had  ever  reported,  up 
to  this  time.  This  year,  the  church  paid 
four  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty  eight 
dollars  and  ten  cents  to  all  objects  of  the 
convention,  and  to  the  church  building 
fund.  The  greater  part  of  this  was  for  the 
new  church  building,  but  it  was  money  just 
the  same. 

In  1915,  he  baptized  twelve,  received 
eight  by  letter,  and  restored  two.  Letters 
were  granted  to  so  many  to  organize  the 
East  Kings  Mountain  Baptist  church  this 
year  that  they  did  not  report  but  four  hun- 
dred and  three  members  to  the  association, 
but  this  was  exceedingly  good  considering 
what  they  had  done  in  helping  the  Second 

215 


church  to  organize.  An  account  of  this  or- 
ganization will  be  given  later. 

This  year  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  eighteen  dollars  and  eighty  seven  cents 
were  raised  for  all  objects. 

Brother  Miller  organized  two  churches 
while  has  was  pastor  here.  The  first  one 
was  at  Crowder's  Mountain.  This  was  or- 
ganized May  30th.,  1915,  3:30  P.  M.  This 
church  did  not  live  very  long.  The  mill  does 
not  keep  help  well,  so  when  the  original 
members  moved  away,  the  church  went  to 
the  bad.  It  was  organized  with  thirty  two 
members. 

The  second  church  he  organized  while 
here  was  East  Kings  Mountain,  now 
known  as  the  Second  church.  It  was  organ- 
ized the  second  Sunday  in  June  1915.  The 
First  church  called  off  its  services  and 
went  in  a  body  to  assist  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  church. 

The  church  was  organized  according  to 
announcement  June  13th.,  1915.  The  con- 
gregation met  in  a  grove  near  the  Cora 
Mill  and  proceeded  to  organize  the  church. 
Twenty  seven  names  were  handed  in  at  the 
beginning,  and  the  church  was  declared  an 
independent  body  according  to  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  New  Testament 
scriptures.  Brother  Miller  was  called  to 
serve  as  pastor  of  the  new   church,  and 

216 


served  until  he  left  this  field  the  first  of 
1916.  A  full  account  of  this  church  and  its 
pastors  will  be  found  in  the  last  part  of 
this  book. 

This  was  so  noble  in  Brother  Miller.  If 
only  all  of  our  preachers  would  try  to  de- 
velop the  outlying  sections  of  our  towns, 
we  would  soon  have  all  of  our  towns  reach- 
ed with  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
trouble  with  so  many  of  us  is  that  we  say 
we  are  missionary,  but  we  do  not  work  at 
the  business. 

Rev.  John  Richard  Miller,  the  oldest  son 
of  George  W.  and  Jane  Eleanor  Gordon 
Miller,  was  born  October  30th.,  1864,  in 
Davidson  county,  N.  C,  about  nine  miles 
south  of  Thomasvilie. 

He  grew  up  on  a  farm,  and  obtained  all 
the  education  he  could  in  the  public  schools 
of  that  time,  and  at  the  age  of  about  six- 
teen, attended  the  high  school  at  Fork 
Academy  for  about  two  years.  This  school 
was  located  in  Davie  county.  It  was  con- 
ducted by  Prof.  J.  T.  Alderman,  one  of  the 
best  school  men  in  the  south.  After  this  he 
taught  and  went  to  school  for  about  three 
years  at  Holly  Grove  academy,  and  grad- 
uated from  there  in  1890. 

His  first  work  after  leaving  school  was 
done  for  The  Executive  Committee  of  The 
Prohibition  Party  of  North  Carolina  from 

217 


March  1891  until  August  1893. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  full  work  of  the 
gospel  ministry  by  request  of  the  Liberty 
Baptist  church  October  29th.,  1897.  The 
ordination  took  place  at  a  Union  Meeting 
held  at  Eldorado  on  the  above  mentioned 
date.  The  presbytery  consisted  of  Revs. 
Henry  Sheets,  Chairman,  John  A.  Summey, 
G.  W.  Henderson,  Jeff  Lanning,  Haywood 
Morris,  Martin  A.  Leach,  and  Lee  W.  Har- 
ris. 

He  was  called  to  full  time  work  in  Janu- 
ary 1898,  and  from  then  until  now  he  has 
not  been  without  full  time  work. 

His  first  pastorates  were  in  the  Liberty 
association  where  he  preached  from  1898 
until  1906. 

In  1906  he  moved  to  the  Stanly  associa- 
tion with  Palmerville  and  Whitney  the  cen- 
ter of  his  work.  He  served  other  churches 
in  the  Stanly  association,  but  Palmerville 
and  Whitney  were  the  leading  ones.  He  was 
in  this  association  from  1906  until  1908. 

In  the  spring  of  1908,  he  was  called  to 
the  pastorate  of  Green  Street  Baptist 
church,  High  Point,  N.  C.,  and  served  there 
until  the  16th  of  February  1916. 

He  went  from  Kings  Mountain  to  Fair- 
mont, N.  C.  This  town  is  in  the  Robeson 
association.  Brother  Miller  thinks  that  he 
did  the  best  work  of  his  life  at  this  place. 

218 


His  work  here  was  very  satisfactory  in- 
deed. He  served  at  Fairmont  until  1922.  He 
was  called  from  Fairmont  to  Norwood,  N. 
C,  and  served  there  from  1922  until  1925. 
This  was  a  very  pleasant  and  profitable 
pastorate,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  re- 
luctance that  the  field  gave  him  up.  He 
served  he  First  Baptist  church  atNorwood 
and  Old  S'lver  Springs,  a  country  church 
just  six  miles  out  from  Norwood.  This  was 
a  great  field  of  work  for  him,  and  is  still 
a  wonderful  work  for  any  pastor.  The 
writer  served  both  of  the  churches  for  a 
number  of  years.  There  is  no  better  work 
in  the  state  than  these  two  churches.  Rev. 
Miller  was  called  to  Kernersville  from 
Nonvood,  and  moved  there  during  the  year 
of  1925.  He  is  now  pastor  at  Kernersville, 
N.  C. 

Rev.  Miller  was  married  to  Miss  Evelyn 
Leach,  daughter  of  Rev.  Martin  J.  Leach 
and  Mahala  Brown  Leach,  March  29th., 
1893.  They  have  two  very  fine  girls,  Miss 
Lois  Miller  and  the  baby  girl  whose  name 
cannot  be  recalled. 

His  pastorate  at  Kings  Mountain  was  a 
great  blessing  to  the  cause.  His  work  will 
live  here  when  he  has  passed  to  the  Great 
Beyond. 

The  following  resolution  was  adopted  by 
the  church  upon  his  departure;  'Whereas, 

219 


our  much  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  John  R.  Mil- 
ler saw  fit,  to  offer  his  resignation  as  our 
pastor,  and 

Whereas,  for  almost  four  years  he  has 
faithfully  broken  to  us  the  bread  of  life. 

Therefore,  be  it  Resolved: 

1st.  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Kings 
Mountain  Baptist  church  do  hereby  ex- 
press our  regret  that  he  is  going  to  leave 
us. 

2nd.  That  the  church  publicly  express  its 
appreciation  to  him  for  his  constant  devo- 
tion to  the  church  and  his  work  in  the  past. 

3rd.  That  the  church  more  especially  ex- 
press its  gratitude  to  him  and  his  Godly 
wife  for  their  faithful  work  and  noble  sac- 
rifice in  prayers  and  money  in  leading  us 
to  build  our  splendid  new  house  of  worship. 

4th.  I  hat  we  part  with  our  pastor  and 
his  family  with  sorrow. 

5th.  That  they  go  from  us  with  the  pray- 
ers and  blessings  of  the  church  and  town, 
and  may  God's  watchful  care  attend  them 
wherever  they  may  go." 

The  above  resolutions  were  adopted  by 
the  church,  March  1st.,  1916. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  best  pastorates 
the  church  has  ever  had. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Beach  was  called  April  2nd., 
1916,  to  succeed  Rev.  John  R.  Miller.  He 
accepted  the  call  for  half  time  at  a  salary 

220 


of  five  hundred  dollars  and  took  charge  of 
the  work  May  28th.  following.  He  came 
here  from  Bryson  City,  N.  C.  He  served 
the  Baptist  church  at  Grover  with  this  one 
at  Kings  Mountain.  These  two  churches^ 
had  been  a  field  for  some  years. 

Rev.  Beach  preached  his  first  sermon 
May  28th.,  1916,  end  at  the  close  of  the 
morning  sermon,  Jake  Herd,  one  of  our 
town  boys  presented  himself  for  baptism. 
This  was  a  good  beginning  for  the  new 
pastor. 

Brother  Beach  came  here  under  great 
disadvantages.  His  house  had  been  burned 
a  short  time  before  he  came  to  take  charge 
of  this  pastorate,  and  this  put  him  to  a 
great  disadvantage,  but  the  people  rallied 
to  his  relief  and  did  all  they  could  for 
him.  They  scon  put  him  on  his  feet  so  that 
he  could  go  on  with  his  wJork. 

During  the  first  year  of  his  pastorate, 
he  baptised  twelve  and  added  twenty  eight 
by  letter.  The  church  reported  three  hund- 
red and  forty  four  members  that  year,  but 
it  is  quite  strange  that  no  more  members 
were  reported  than  this.  The  year  before 
it  reported  four  hundred  and  three  mem- 
bers; this  year  three  hundred  and  forty 
four.  Beach  added  forty  members  during 
the  year,  and  lost  seventeen  by  letter  and 
death.  This  would  leave  twenty  seven  as  a 

221 


REV.  \V.  K.  BEACH 


222 


net  gain.  Now,  add  twenty  seven  to  four 
hundred  and  three  and  you  have  what 
ought  to  have  been  reported.  This  makes 
four  hundred  and  thirty,  but  the  report 
says  that  they  had  three  hundred  and  forty 
four.  Discrepancies  like  this  ought  not  to 
be  allowed.  They  are  misleading.  Who 
knows  what  became  of  the  fifty  nine  miss- 
ing members?  They  passed  off  quietly,  and 
nothing  was  said  about  them. 

The  finances  were  in  good  shape  during 
bis  first  year.  The  church  raised  fourteen 
hundred  dollars  and  fourteen  cents  for  all 
objects.  This  was  no  bad  showing  for  a 
church  the  size  of  this  one. 

The  second  year  Beach  baptised  four- 
teen, received  eight  by  letter,  and  restored 
one,  making  thirty  three  in  all.  He  dis- 
missed twenty  five  by  letter  and  two  died, 
leaving  him  a  net  gain  of  six  members,  but 
the  report  to  the  association  shows  that 
they  did  not  have  but  three  hundred  and 
thirty  six  members  all  told.  There  must  be 
another  mistake  in  this  report.  If  the 
figures  were  correct  for  1916,  he  would 
have  had  three  hundred  and  fifty  members 
this  year. 

Fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  eight  dollars 
and  sixty  cents  were  raised  for  all  objects 
during  the  year  of  1917.  This  was  a  slight 
increase  over  the  last  year. 

223 


In  i918,  Brother  Beach  baptised  sixteen, 
received  twenty  by  letter,  and  restored 
one,  making  a  total  increase  of  thirty  sev- 
en. He  lost  twenty  three  by  letter,  exclud- 
ed two,  and  four  died,  making  a  total  loss 
of  twenty  nine.  The  report  to  the  associa- 
tion showed  three  hundred  and  forty  sev- 
en members.  Please  compare  this  report 
with  the  one  for  the  previous  year.  There 
must  have  been  a  mistake  some  where. 

This  year,  the  church  raised  sixteen 
hundred  and  twenty  dollars  and  ten  cents 
for  all  objects.  This  was  the  best  the 
church  had  done  since  the  new  church 
building  was  on  hand. 

The  reports  for  the  year  of  1919,  are  not 
given  in  the  minutes  of  that  year.  It  is 
such  a  pity  that  the  reports  of  all  of  the 
churches  were  left  out  of  the  1919  minute 
of  the  association.  This  was  the  most  won- 
derful  year  Baptists  have  ever  seen  in  this 
country.  This  was  the  75  Million  campaign 
year.  All  of  the  records  of  it  ought  to  have 
been  kept,  but  they  were  not  kept  at  all. 
The  church  here  was  supposed  to  subscribe 
ten  thousand  dollars,  but  nothing  is  said  in 
the  minutes  about  how  much  it  subscribed. 
It  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign,  and 
it  paid  its  proportional  part,  but  nothing  is 
said  about  what  that  part  was,  except 
what  it  was  apportioned,  $10,000.00. 

224  ' 


The  committee  was  continued  during 
during  1920  to  collect  the  remainder  of  the 
pledges  of  the  seventy  five  million  cam- 
paign money,  but  nothing  definite  is  said 
about  what  that  committee  did. 

The  report  to  the  association  that  year 
gave  a  total  of  $3,452.69,  paid  to  all  ob- 
jects. This  was  very  good  for  this  church, 
in  fact,  this  was  the  best  it  had  ever  done. 
Brother  Beach  seems  to  have  been  very 
euccessful  in  handling  the  finances  of  the 
church.  The  people  responded  very  gener- 
ously to  his  appeals.  During  the  year  he 
baptised  twenty  eight,  received  seven  by 
letter,  and  dismissed  twenty  three  by  letter 
and  lost  three  by  death.  The  total  member- 
ship reported  that  year  was  two  hundred 
and  ninety  three.  Thus  far  two  hundred 
and  three  names  were  lost  without  any 
record  being  made  of  them. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Beach  closed  his  pastorate  at 
kings  Mountain  August  22nd.  and  moved 
to  Tabor,  N.  C,  the  following  Tuesday. 
His  family  is  still  remembered  here,  and 
especially  his  wife  who  was  such  a  great 
worker.  The  ladies  still  remember  her 
work,  and  honor  her  for  it.  Miss  Susie 
Beach  is  a  student  nurse  at  our  Baptist 
Hospital,  Winston  Salem,  N.  C.  He  has  one 
son  who  is  an  ordained  Baptist  preacher; 
Brother   Beach   is  still  very  active  as  a 

225 


preacher.  He  is  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  Erwin,  N.  C. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Beach  was  born  in  Caldwell 
county,  N.  C,  nine  miles  east  of  Lenoir, 
July  6th.,  1872.  He  grew  up  on  a  farm  and 
attended  school  as  opportunity  was  given 
him  in  the  public  schools  of  that  day.  This 
meant  about  two  and  one  half  months  in  a 
year.  When  he  was  about  nineteen  years 
old,  he  attended  school  at  Hibrlcon  Acad- 
emy and  remained  there  a  part  of  three 
years.  Later  he  attended  Taylorsville  Col- 
legiate Institute,  Taylosville,  N.  C. 

After  he  attended  school  at  Taylorsville 
Institute,  he  taught  for  about  sixteen 
years.  A  part  of  this  time  was  spent  in 
teaching  public  schools  in  the  towns  of 
North  Carolina.  He  was  connected  with 
the  graded  school  at  Granite  Falls  for  some 
time,  then  at  Dobson,  and  at  one  time  he 
was  principal  of  Leesville  High  School 
Leesville  is  in  Wake  County.  He  served 
here  during  the  years  of  1907-1908. 

He  was  converted  and  joined  Kings 
Creek  Baptist  church  in  May  1891,  and  was 
baptised  the  first  Sunday  in  May  1891,  by 
Rev.  W.  J.  Baumgardner. 

He  preached  his  first  sermon  December 
18,  1892,  at  Union  Baptist  church,  Caldwell 
county. 

He  was  licensed  to    preach    by  Kings 
226 


Creek  Baptist  church  December  24th., 
1882,  and  was  ordained  April  24th.,  1896. 

He  has  served  churches  in  the  following 
counties  in  North  Carolina:  Caldwell,  Wil- 
kes, Catawba,  Surry,  Wake,  Durham,  Cha- 
tam,  Johnston,  Madison,  Swain,  Cleveland, 
Columbus,  and  Orange.  He  is  now  serving 
a  field  in  Harnett  and  Sampson  counties. 

September  4th.,  1895,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Kate  Coffey  of  Caldwell  county.  Sev- 
en children  have  been  born  to  this  union. 
Six  of  them  are  living.  They  are  Agnes, 
Estelle,  Ben,  Susie,  Bertha,  Ina,  and  W.  R. 
Jr.  Agnes  died  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
Estelle  married  Mr.  Chas.  H.  Warren, 
Superintendent  of  the  Odd  Fellows  Or- 
phanage, Goldsboro,  N.  C.  Ben  is  an  or- 
dained Baptist  preacher  and  has  charge  of 

.  the  missionary  work  of  the  Sandy  Creek 
Baptist  Association.  He  is  called  the  Field 

.  Worker  for  that  Association.  He  looks  af- 
ter the  Sunday  School    and    B.  Y.  P.  U. 

t  work.  His  work  is  similar  to  that  Broth- 
er A.  V.  Washburn  is  doing  in  this  asso- 
ciation, but  is  more  extensive.  He  has  a 
fine  position  and  is  well  fit'.ed  for  it.  Susie 
graduates  from  the  Baptist  Hospital,  Win- 
ston-Salem, this  spring  (1926.)  Bertha  is  a 
student  at  Wingate  Junior  College,  from 
which  she  hopes  to  graduate  very  soon,  Ina 
finished  high  school  last  year,  and  W.  R. 

227 


Jr.,  will  graduate  from  high  school  this 
year. 

Beach  is  still  vigorous  and  active.  He 
can  preach  as  well  as  he  did  when  he  was  a 
much  younger  man. 

Brother  J.  0.  Fulbright  was  called  Octo- 
ber 10th.,  to  succeed  Brother  W.  R.  Beach 
who  resigned  in  June  of  that  year.  Rev, 
Fulbright  was  called  for  full  time  at  a  sal- 
ary  of  two  thousand  dollars  a  year.  He  ac- 
cepted and  took  charge  of  the  work  the 
following  November.  He  preached  his  first 
sermon  November  7th.,  1920. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  Rev.  Ful- 
bright did  was  to  assist  in  the  organization 
of  Macedonia  Baptist  church  near  the  Park 
f  Yarn  Mill.  This  organization  was  made 
October  31st.,  1920.  This  was  before  he  had 
preached  a  single  sermon  as  pastor  of  the 
church.  Everything  had  been  made  ready 
for  the  organization  before  he  came,  and 
just  as  soon  as  he  landed,  they  proceeded 
to  organize.  This  was  the  third  church  to 
go  out  from  the  First  church.  A  full  ac- 
count of  the  church  Will  be  given  at  the 
close  of  this  book. 

Rev.  Fulbright's  ministry  with  the  First 
church  started  off  beautifully.  He  had 
large  crowds  for  all  of  his  services,  and 
especially  for  the  Wednesday  evening  ser- 
vice. He  showed  his  stereoptican  views  of 

228 


Palestine,  and  the  Orient  to  the  people  who 
attended.  This  drew  large  crowds. 

His  lectures  and  the  pictures  were  very 
interesting,  as  he  had  made  the  pictures 
himself  and  knew  what  he  was  talking 
about.  He  did  much  good  with  them.  His 
ministry  here  was  one  ^J^Jbest  of  his 
life.  He  served  here  from  October  1920  un- 
til November  8th.,  1922,  making  him  just 
twenty  five  months  pastor  of  this  church. 
He  moved  from  this  field  to  East  Gastonia 
where  he  is  still  pastor. 

During  the  first  year  of  his  ministry 
here,  he  baptised  four,  received  thirty  sev- 
en by  letter,  and  restored  two,  making  a 
grand  total  of  forty  three  members.  The 
membership  this  year  was  two;  hundred 
and  ninety. 

The  church  raised  $8,177.13.  This  was 
the  most  that  it  had  raised  up  to  |  this  time. 
Fulbright  was  the  second  full  tihie  pastor 
the  church  ever  had.  Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  serv- 
ed full  time  for  one  year  some  time  before 
this.  It  paid  him  the  greatest  salary  it  ever 
paid  a  pastor,  and  his  ministry  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  new  day  for  the  kingdom  in 
Kings  Mountain. 

The  second  year  of  his  services  here  was 
one  of  Tiis  best  years.  He  baptised  eighty 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  and  re- 
ceived seventy  four  by  letter.  He  closed  the 

229 


REV.  J.  <).  FULBKIGHT 


230 


year  with  four  hundred  and  twenty  three 
members.  This  was  the  largest  the  mem- 
bership had  ever  been. 

During  the  year,  he  raised  $3,733.45.  The 
report  in  the  minutes  is  not  correct.  There 
was  a  mistake  made  in  the  addition  of  the 
amounts  paid  to  the  different  objects. 

As  has  been  said  above,  this  was  the  best 
wrork  Rev.  Fulbright  had  ever  done  on  any 
field.  He  made  some  wonderful  improve- 
ments here,  and  it  was  with  regret  that 
the  church  had  to  give  him  up.  His  wife  is 
a  most  estimable  woman.  She  is  very  tact- 
ful in  her  work,  and  makes  friends  where 
ever  she  lives  and  labors.  Rev.  Fulbright 
is  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  and  is  calcu- 
lated to  do  much  good  in  the  years  to  come. 

He  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Geor- 
gia, June  15th.,  1879.  His  father  was  Dan- 
iel Fulbright,  a  native  Georgian.  He  was 
reared  in  Georgia. 

He  received  his  high  school  education  at 
Carnesville  and  Cornelia,  Georgia.  He  at- 
tended college  at  the  State  Normal,  Athens, 
Georgia.  He  graduated  from  this  institu- 
tion. He  attended  the  Southern  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary  1905-1907,  taking  his 
Th.  G.  degree.  He  also  attended  Moody 
Bible  Institute,  Northfield,  Mass. 

He  taught  school  in  Georgia  for  nine 
years,  and   made   an   extensive  tour  of 

231  ' 


Bible  lands  in  1908. 

He  is  exceedingly  well  prepared  for  his 
work. 

He  has  served  the  following  churches; 
Bethlehem  Baptist  church,  Clarksville,  Ga., 
Mt.  Pleasant,  Kentucky,  Southport,  North 
Carolina,  First  Baptist  church,  Lenoir,  N. 
C,  Carthage  Baptist  church,  Carthage,  N. 
C,  Sylva  Baptist  church,  Sylva,  N.  C,  First 
Baptist  church,  Kings  Mountain,  N.  C.,  and 
is  now  pastor  of  East  Baptist  church,  Gas- 
tonia,  N.  C. 

Dr.  Walter  N.  Johnson  succeeded  Rev. 
Fulbright  and  served  this  church  during 
the  year  of  1924.  He  did  a  great  work  here 
in  raising  the  old  debts  that  had  been 
standing  against  the  church  for  several 
years.  He  did  not  add  many  members,  but 
he  caused  the  church  to  strike  a  new  pace 
for  its  future  program. 

During  his  first  year  he  baptised  three 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  and  re- 
ceived three  by  letter.  The  total  member- 
ship reported  to  the  association  was  four 
hundred  and  seventeen. 

The  total  amount  of  money  raised  dur- 
ing the  year  was  $5,932.32 

His  work  covered  a  part  of  two  years,  so 
to  know  all  that  he  did,  you  will  have  to  ex- 
amine the  minutes  of  two  meetings  of  the 
association,  1923  and  1924,  During  the  year 

232 


DK.  W.  N.  JOHNSON 


233 


of  1924,  he  baptised  none,  but  lettered  fif- 
teen and  four  died,  leaving  the  total  mem- 
bership four  hundred  and  four. 

He  resigned  here  early  in  the  fall  of 
1924  to  take  chage  of  a  Stewardship  school 
that  was  being  arranged  for  him  in  the 
Gaston  County  Baptist  association.  He  left 
Kings  Mountain  the  first  of  January,  1925. 

Dr.  Walter  N.  Johnson  is  truly  a  great 
man.  He  was  Corresponding  Secretary  of 
the  Baptist  State  Convention  for  a  number 
of  years,  and  his  work  as  Secretary  has 
never  been  excelled.  He  has  been  pastor  at 
several  important  points  in  this  state,  and 
in  other  states.  At  one  time  he  was  pastor 
of  the  Wake  Forest  Baptist  church,  and 
while  there  led  the  church  to  build  a  nice 
and  commodious  house  of  worship.  It  is 
one  of  the  prettiest  in  the  state.  While  he 
was  laboring  under  this  burden,  his  health 
gave  way,  and  he  came  very  near  having  to 
give  up  all  together,  but  the  Lord  was 
gracious  and  spared  him  to  continue  his 
work. 

He  is  an  expert  on  the  doctrine  of 
Stewardship  as  it  is  taught  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  has  spoken  on  this  subject 
in  many  sections  of  our  country.  He  is 
holding  stewardship  conferences  now,  and 
has  all  the  work  he  can  do.  He  lives  at 
Mars  Hill  at  present. 

234 


Dr.  Walter  N.  Johnson  was  born  March 
24,  1875.  He  was  ordained  to  the  full  work 
of  the  gospel  ministry  1896.  He  graduated 
from  Wake  Forest  College  1899.  He  was 
reared  in  eastern  North  Carolina. 

He  has  served  in  the  following  places  and 
stations ; 

Paster  at  We]don,  N.  C,  Rocky  Mount, 
N.  C,  Business  Manager  for  Dell  High 
School,  Pastor  at  Nachitoches,  La.,  Secre- 
tary of  Missions  in  La.,  Pastor  of  Im man- 
ual Baptist  church,  Alexandria,  La.,  Pastor 
of  Wake  Forest  Baptist  church  and  built 
the  present  house  of  worship  while  pastor 
there ;  Secretary  of  Missions  in  North  Car- 
olina, Supply  pastor  at  Badin,  Steward- 
ship Evangelist  and  supply  pastor  at  Kings 
Mountain,  N.  C.  He  is  now  Secretary  of 
the  Stewardship  League  of  Baptist  Minis- 
ters, Mars  Hill,  N.  C. 

He  has  done  a  great  work  in  his  life,  and 
is  still  vigorous  and  as  active  as  he  was 
twenty  years  ago. 

The  author  of  this  little  sketch  succeeded 
Dr.  Johnson  as  pastor  of  this  church.  He 
was  pastor  of  the  Loray  Baptist  church, 
Gastonia.  The  work  was  very  heavy  for 
him,  and  when  the  invitation  came  to  him 
to  consider  the  work  at  this  place,  he  de- 
cided that  it  would  be  much  easier  for  him 
than  a  church  with  nearly  thirteen  hund- 

235 


red  members,  but  he  has  not  found  it  so. 
He  has  done  the  hardest  work  of  his  life 
in  Kings  Mountain.  He  has  met  difficul- 
ties he  never  dreamed  of,  and  his  health 
has  been  very  treacherous  a  part  of  the 
time. 

It  was  so  hard  for  him  to  leave  such  a 
loyal  church  to  come  to  a  new  field.  He 
knew  all  of  his  members  at  Loray,  and 
here  he  knew  just  a  few.  He  knew  all  of 
the  churches  in  the  Gaston  County  associa- 
tion, but  here  he  knew  practically  none  of 
them.  His  plans  were  so  different  from  any 
man  they  had  ever  had  here  that  it  was 
no  easy  task  for  him  to  begin  his  work  at 
this  place.  He  left  one  of  the  largest  and 
best  organized  Sunday  Schools  in  the  state 
to  take  hold  of  one  that  was  not  organized 
at  all;  but  he  is  glad  that  he  came.  The 
people  have  been  very  kind  to  him,  and 
some  progress  has  been  made.  He  does  not 
claim  one  bit  of  honor  for  what  has  been 
done.  All  the  glory  goes  to  the  Lord  of  us 
all.  What  he  has  done  in  a  humble  way  here 
is  not  what  concerns  him  most.  The  work 
to  be  done  is  the  trouble.  We  have  so  many 
people  here  who  have  not  been  enlisted  for 
the  Master.  They  are  the  trouble  with  the 
present  pastor.  His  heart  burns  for  the 
lost  and  unenlisted  of  this  town.  One  hun- 
dred and  seven  members  were  added  the 

238 


the  first  year  of  his  ministry,  and  a  great; 
many  have  been  added  this  year,  but  they 
have  not  been  counted,  and  they  will  not 
be  counted  until  the  year  closes. 

The  Sunday  School  is  the  largest  and  the 
best  it  has  ever  been.  The  outlook  is  very 
encouraging,  but  the  work  is  hard,  much 
harder  than  it  ought  to  be.  The  fellowship 
of  the  church  is  not  as  good  as  it  ought  to 
be.  This  makes  it  so  hard  for  a  pastor. 

In  the  fall  of  1925,  the  pastor  was  called 
back  to  his  old  field  of  labor  at  Wingate 
Junior  College,_and  it  was  such  an  inviting 
field  for  him.  Re  knows  nearly  every  fami- 
ly in  Wingate,  and  has  baptised  a  great 
number  of  the  present  members  of  the 
church  at  that  place.  He  has  been  „in  every 
home  in  that  section  of  country,  and  has 
married  hundreds  of  the  young  people,  and 
preached  the  funerals  of  many  of  their 
dead.  It  was  so  hard  to  say  "No"  to  that 
people,  but  the  folks  here  said  that  he  had 
not  finished  his  work,  so  they  would  not 
allow  him  to  accept  the  call  to  his  old  field, 
and  he  had  to  say  "No"  to  those  he  loves 
like  brothers. 

He  is  now  fifty  four  years  old,  but  still 
loves  his  work  and  preaches  as  vigorously 
as  he  did  thirty  years  ago. 

He  has  served  churches  in  Stanly,  Union, 
and  Anson  counties.  He  was  pastor  at  Af- 

237 


bemarle  for  eleven  years,  Wingate  for  five 
years,  Norwood  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
Gastonia  for  more  than  four  years. 

He  taught  school  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  was  county  superintendent  for  a  long 
time.  He  has  written  several  books  during 
the  time  he  has  been  serving  Baptist 
churches  in  North  Carolina,  and  has  edited 
a  newspaper  for  several  years.  He  has 
been  a  regular  correspondent  for  several 
of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  state,  and 
still  enjoys  writing  for  them. 

He  was  saved  by  the  grace  of  God  July 
22nd.,  1890,  and  was  baptised  by  Rev.  J.  A. 
Hoyle  Saturday  July  26th.,  1890. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach  June  23,  1894, 
and  was  ordained  two  years  later,  the 
same  month  and  day  of  the  month. 

He  has  been  preaching  since  conversion, 
and  hopes  to  be  able  to  preach  as  long  as 
he  lives. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Annie  Black, 
January  16th.,  and  to  this  union  eight  chil- 
dren have  been  born.  They  are  Prof.  Chas. 
S.  Black  of  Wake  Forest,  Mrs.  Loy  Banks 
Biggers  of  Bessemer  City,  Miss  Odessa 
Black,  who  teaches  in  the  high  school  of 
Apex,  Miss  Helen  Black,  a  teacher  in  the 
graded  school  at  High  Shoals,  James  H. 
Black,  a  student  at  Furman  University, 
and  Anabel,  George  Truett,  and  Billie 
-  238 


Louise  who  are  still  at  home  and  are  in  th£ 
city  school, 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL,  WHEN  OR* 

GANIZED,  FIRST  SUPERINTENDENT 

Other  Superintendents,  Number  of  Pupils 
Enrolled  Under  Each  Superintendent,  The 
First  Secretary,  Other  Secretaries,  The 
Present  Sunday  School,  What  the  Sunday 
School  Has  Meant  To  The  Church,  Its  Pres- 
ent Outlook,  and  Its  Urgent  Needs. 


The  Sunday  School  work  of  the  First 
Baptist  church  is  a  very  difficult  thing  to 
write  the  history  of.  The  church  has  no  re- 
cords of  the  first  work  done  here  and  so 
little  was  required  for  the  reports  to  the 
annual  associations  that  it  is  impossible  to 
depend  upon  the  associational  minutes  to 
tell  just  what  was  done  in  our  Sunday 
School  during  the  first  ten  years  of  the 
church's  life. 

The  first  record  of  the  Sunday  School  is 
found  in  the  minutes  of  The  Kings  Moun- 
tain association  for  the  year  of  1892.  Some 
believe  that  the  Baptists  had  a  small  Sun- 
day School  in  the  school  building  before 
this  time;  while  others  say  that  there  was 
never  a  Baptist  Sunday  School  in  this  town 
until  the  latter  part  of  1891,  or  possibly  the 
early  part  of  1892.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the 


author  that  there  was  never  a  Baptist  Sun- 
day School  in  this  town  until  the  first  house 
of  worship  was  built.  It  is  true  that  the 
Baptists  held  services  regularly  in  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  possibly  in  their 
homes  occasionally,  but  they  did  not  un- 
dertake to  run  a  Sunday  School  until  they 
had  their  house  hulled  in  so  that  they  could 
use  it.  It  is  unreasonable  to  think  that 
they  did.  Baptists  are  not  intruders,  and 
they  would  have  been  had  they  held  Sun- 
day School  in  the  church  the  Lutherans 
loaned  them  to  hold  preaching  services  in 
until  they  could  get  their  house  built.  Bap- 
tists teach  peculiar  views — views  antago- 
nistic to  those  of  other  denominations,  and 
they  will  not  compromise  with  other  de- 
nominations enough  to  hold  Sunday  School 
jb  their  buildings  without  teaching  their 
distinctive  doctrines.  They  held  services  in 
tfife  old  Methodist  church  for  a  while  after 
the  church  was  organized,  but  because  of  a 
Misunderstanding  between  Rev.  C.  F.  Fel- 
met  and  Rev.  J.  E.  McManaway,  they  mov- 
ed to  the  Lutheran  church.  The  old  Metho- 
dist church  stood  where  the  Presbyterian 
church  now  stands;  the  Presbyterian 
church  was  located  on  the  west  side  of  the 
rail  road  at  that  time.  The  change  came 
later  on  when  the  present  arrangement 
was  made.  The  Baptists  may  have  preach- 

241 


SUNDAY  SCHOOL  OFFICERS  AND  TEACHERS 


242 


ed  in  the  old  school  building,  and  they  may- 
have  had  a  little  Sunday  School  there  some 
time  before  the  church  was  organized,  but 
it  is  not  likely  that  they  did. 

It  is  not  known  how  long  they  held  servi- 
ces in  any  of  the  borrowed  buildings,  nor 
is  it  known  just  where  all  of  the  services 
were  held  until  the  house  was  made  ready, 
but  it  must  have  been  several  months. 
They  held  services  occasionally  in  their 
homes.  Baptists  have  often  done  such 
things,  and  this  was  no  exception  to  the 
general  rule.  Their  business  meetings  must 
have  been  held  in  their  homes,  as  they 
would  not  feel  free  to  discuss  Baptists  in- 
terest in  the  pedobaptist  churches.  Rev.  J. 
E.  McManaway  says  that  he  preached  in 
Rev.  C.  F.  Felmet's  home  one  evening,  and 
at  that  time  the  number  of  Baptists  in  the 
town  was  ascertained.  Because  of  work 
like  this,  the  Baptists  must  have  held  ser- 
vices in  their  homes  quite  a  number  of 
times  to  get  things  ready  for  the  organi- 
zation. The  house  was  hulled  in  during  the 
year  of  1891,  and  it  is  likely  that  they  did 
not  organize  their  Sunday  School  until  the 
spring  of  1892.  Baptists,  at  that  time  had 
an  idea  that  they  ought  to  hibernate,  so 
many  of  our  churches  did  not  have  Sun- 
day Schools  during  the  winter.  It  was  very 
amusing  to  hear  the  reports  of  the  Sunday 

243 


School  work  as  they  were  given  at  our  an- 
nual associations.  The  church  that  had 
twelve  months  term  of  Sunday  School 
would  say,  "We  have  an  evergreen  Sunday 
School,"  and  many  of  them  were  ever 
green.  They  never  grew  any,  or  bloomed 
into  conversions.  Now,  since  the  old  custom 
was  to  begin  anew  in  the  spring,  it  is  like- 
ly that  there  was  never  a  Sunday  School 
here  until  the  early  spring  of  1892.  As  has 
been  stated  above  the  first  account  of  the 
Sunday  School  here  was  a  report  to  the 
Kings  Mountain  association  in  1892.  The 
association  met  with  the  First  Baptist 
church  at  Gastonia  September  22-25th.  that 
year,  Now,  since  the  association  met  so 
early  in  the  year,  we  can  readily  see  that 
the  Sunday  School  could  have  been  organi- 
zed during  the  fourth  quarter  of  1891,  or 
during  the  first,  or  second  quarter  of  1892. 
Any  way  it  was  in  existence  when  the  as- 
sociation met  with  the  Baptist  church  at 
Gastonia  in  1892.  The  report  shows  that 
there  was  a  good  Sunday  School  at  that 
time  with  an  enrollment  of  fifty.  This  was 
fine  for  a  church  of  its  size  as  it  did  not 
have  but  thirty  one  members  at  that  time. 
It  had  eight  officers  and  teachers.  This 
shows  that  it  was  wide  awake  for  that  day. 

A.  E.  Clayton  was  the  superintendent.  I 
have  not  learned  just  who  he  was,  but  he 

244 


was  a  Baptist  who  was  here  at  that  time. 
He  went  to  Georgia  some  years  later  and 
is  still  living  there. 

He  was  the  first  superintendent  we  have 
any  record  of,  and  must  have  been  the  first 
one  the  church  had.  They  would  not  have 
changed  superintendents  within  a  few 
months  after  the  organization  of  the  Sun- 
day School.  This  makes  us  believe  that  he 
was  the  first,  but  according  to  the  records, 
he  did  not  serve  but  one  year.  In  1893,  J. 
W.  Wright  was  elected  and  served  for  one 
year.  The  school  had  forty  enrolled  during 
his  administration,  or  they  may  have  had 
more  enrolled,  the  average  attendance  was 
forty.  The  average  attedance  usually  runs 
about  two  thirds  of  the  enrollment,  some 
times  it  scarcely  reaches  that  high.  After 
J.  W.  Wright's  term  expired,  T.  B.  Man- 
gum  was  elected  and  served  just  one  year. 
He  increased  the  enrollment  a  little.  The 
records  show  that  he  had  fifty  five  schol- 
ars with  a  good  average  attendance. 

In  1895,  J.  T.  Davis  was  elected  superin- 
tendent. He  seems  to  have  had  a  better 
showing  than  the  others.  He  increased  the 
enrollment  to  seventy  eight.  This  was  the 
best  the  School  had  done  from  its  organiza- 
tion to  this  time.  The  Sunday  School  en- 
rollment was  more  than  the  membership  of 
the  church,  and  this  was   good   for  that 

245 


time.  Many  of  our  churches  did  not  do  half 
so  well  as  this.  The  older  members  thought 
that  the  Sunday  School  belonged  to  a  few 
teachers  and  the  children.  Were  they  not 
awfully  mistaken  ?  Many  of  them  still  have 
such  erroneous  notions  about  it.  They  do 
not  know  what  they  are  missing.  Their  in- 
fluence is  on  the  wrong  side,  and  they  are 
missing  so  much  joy  by  not  being  engaged 
in  the  work. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Griffin  was  elected  superin- 
tendent in  1896.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
misfit  as  the  school  lost  considerably  dur- 
ing his  term  of  office.  The  enrollment  went 
from  seventy  eight  to  forty  six.  There 
must  have  been  something  wrong,  or  the 
enrollment  would  not  have  dropped  so 
much  in  so  short  a  time.  I  do  not  know 
anything  about  the  brother,  and  cannot  say 
just  what  the  cause  was.  The  most  preach- 
ers make  very  poor  superintendents.  Some 
good  superintendents  have  made  very  poor 
preachers.  A  good  superintendent  is  hard 
tc  find,  and  when  you  get  one  who  puts  his 
soul  into  the  work,  you  had  better  hold  him 
until  you  know  that  you  can  better  your- 
self. There  is  so  much  work  attached  to 
the  office,  that  very  few  men  will  take 
enough  interest  in  it  to  make  the  Sunday 
School  interesting. 

A  good,  lively,  punctual  superintendent 
246 


J.  F.  DICKEY 
Superintendent  1897 


247 


is  one  of  the  greatest  assets  a  Sunday 
School  can  have. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Griffin  served  just  one  year. 
After  him  came  J.  F.  Dickey  who  seems  to 
have  been  a  perfect  fit.  The  School  run 
from  forty  six  in  enrollment  to  one  hund- 
red and  fifty.  This  was  nearly  twice  as 
many  as  had  ever  been  enrolled  in  the 
school.  His  work  is  still  talked  of  here,  and 
the  efforts  he  put  forth  to  build  up  the 
Master's  kingdom  are  still  to  be  seen.  He 
left  two  daughters  who  have  been  a  bless- 
ing to  the  church  for  many  years.  Brother 
Dickey  served  just  one  year,  and  then  T.  F. 
Cummings  was  elected.  Brother  Cummings 
run  a  roller  shop,  or  covered  rollers  while 
here,  and  seems  to  have  been  a  wide  awake 
church  worker.  The  enrollment  of  the  Sun- 
day School  increased  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  four. 
This  was  not  a  great  increase,  but  it  show- 
ed that  he  was  wide  awake  along  Sunday 
School  lines. 

J.  W.  Woodward  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  School  in  1899.  The 
school  grew  under  his  care  from  one  hund- 
red and  fifty  four  to  one  hundred  and  six- 
ty. He  has  a  widow  and  two  fine  children 
here  who  are  among  the  very  best  work- 
ers we  have  in  our  church.  His  daughter, 
Miss  Lila,  is  one  of  the  very  best  B.  Y.  P, 

248 


GEORGE  YV.  KENDRICK 
Superintendent  1 900- 1 902 


249 


U.  workers  I  have  ever  had,  and  his  son, 
Joe  Lee,  is  a  student  in  Boiling  Springs 
High  School. 

In  1900,  Brother  George  W.  Kendrick 
was  elected  superintendent  and  served  un- 
til 1902.  The  first  year  he  was  superinten- 
dent, the  school  run  to  the  highest  number 
since  its  organization.  It  went  from  one 
hundred  and  sixty  to  two  hundred  and 
three,  but  by  some  means,  the  enrollment 
fell  to  one  hundred  and  fifteen  in  1901. 
Nothing  is  said  about  what  caused  the  de- 
crease, but  there  must  have  been  mill  cur- 
tailment. Many  of  the  Sunday  School  folks 
worked  in  the  mills,  and  when  the  mills 
run  bad,  the  Sunday  School  did  the  same 
way.  Some  times  church  work  has  been  al- 
most ruined  by  mill  shortage.  There  ought 
to  be  some  remedy  for  such,  but  it  is  a 
hard  thing  to  manage. 

Hon.  David  P.  Bellinger  was  elected 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  in 
1903.  He  was  a  very  enthusiastic  young 
lawyer  at  this  time,  and  he  directed  his  en- 
ergy toward  the  Lord's  work  and  run  the 
Sunday  School  enrollment  from  one  hund- 
red and  fifteen  to  two  hundred  and  eight. 
This  was  a  fine  increase  for  one  year.  But 
Bellinger  does  what  he  does  with  all  of  his 
might.  He  is  the  best  associational  clerk  I 
have  ever  seen,  and  is  one    of   the  best 

250 


church  clerks  in  the  state.  He  is  a  fine  law- 
yer, and  has  been  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture one  term.  He  is  now  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church  at  Cherryville, 
and  has  been  clerk  of  the  Gaston  County 
Baptist  association  since  its  organization. 

Brother  S.  S.  Weir  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  School  in  1904.  He 
served  for  three  years,  and  during  this 
time  for  the  school  held  its  own  pretty  well. 
He  had  one  hundred  and  sixty  the  first 
year,  one  hundred  and  thirty  six  the  second 
year,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  the  third 
year.  This  decrease  may  have  been  caused 
by  mill  curtailment.  The  mills  were  run- 
ning on  short  time  nearly  all  the  time  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. The  number  of  scholars  often  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  efficiency  of  the  of- 
ficers in  charge.  So  many  things  enter  into 
such  a  thing  as  Sunday  School  enrollment 
that  you  cannot  tell  by  the  enrollment  just 
what  has  caused  the  decrease.  It  is  so  with 
a  congregation  also.  Some  times  you  have 
a  large  crowd,  then  again,  when  you  feel 
like  the  house  will  be  running  over,  you 
have  plenty  of  room  to  spare. 

Brother  Weir  is  still  a  member  of  our 
church  and  is  one  of  the  best  workers  we 
have.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Business  Men's 
Bible  Class,  and  is  an  active  deacon.  He  is 

251 


an  honorable  man,  straightforward  in  all 
of  his  dealings,  and  stands  high  in  his  com- 
munity. He  is  now  postmaster  of  our  town, 
and  has  other  honorable  business  relations. 

Brother  D.  F.  Hord  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  School  in  1907,  and 
served  one  year.  He  made  some  improve- 
ment in  the  enrollment.  It  ran  from  an  en- 
rollment of  one  hundred  and  ten  to  two 
hundred  an  twenty  in  one  year.  This  was 
a  fine  showing  for  one  year.  There  seems 
to  have  been  more  folks  here  at  that  time 
than  had  formerly  been  here.  The  school 
made  a  very  fine  showing  for  the  number 
of  inhabitants  we  had  in  our  town  at  that 
time.  The  school  improved  in  many  ways 
during  his  administration,  and  began  to 
show  signs  of  improvement  along  many 
lines.  He  did  not  serve  but  cne  year  at  this 
time.  That  was  1907. 

Prof.  S.  J.  Huneycutt  succeeded  D.  F. 
Hord  in  1908,  and  did  not  serve  but  one 
year.  He  was  principal  of  the  graded 
school  at  that  time,  and  as  he  moved  away 
from  here  to  become  principal  of  the  South 
Fork  Institute,  he  could  not  serve  any  long- 
er. He  seems  to  have  been  a  fit  as  he  kept 
the  enrollment  up  to  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enteen during  the  year.  He  was  a  fine 
fine  school  man  and  a  most  consecrated 
gentleman. 

252 


Brother  John  W.  Stroup  succeeded  him 
and  served  through  1909.  He  seems  to  have 
made  pretty  good  head  way  with  the  work 
as  his  enrollment  for  the  year  was  two  hun- 
dred and  eleven.  He  is  now  a  citizen  of 
Gastonia,  and  the  last  I  knew  of  him  was 
was  a  member  of  Loray  Baptist  church. 

Brother  Forest  Floyd  succeeded  J.  W. 
Stroup,  and  served  from  1910  until  1914. 
He  was  a  bundle  of  enthusiasm  and  work- 
ed with  all  of  his  might  at  what  ever  job 
he  was  on.  He  ran  the  Sunday  School  from 
two  hundred  and  eleven  in  1909  to  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  eight  in  1910.  This  was  the 
largest  number  the  school  had  ever  enroll- 
ed. In  1911,  he  ran  the  enrollment  up  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  but  in  1912,  dropped 
down  to  two  hundred  and  thirty,  but  this 
was  still  far  above  what  had  been  done  be- 
fore. More, people  were  here  to  enlist,  and 
then  too,  the  church  was  having  better  pas- 
toral service.  This  had  much  to  do  with  the 
Sunday  School  work.  No  records  of  the 
work  done  during  1913  can  be  found,  but  I 
am  sure  that  Brother  Forest  Floyd  was 
superintendent  as  he  was  during  1914. 
During  this  year,  the  school  reached  its 
highest  mark.  It  went  to  three  hundred 
and  twenty  nine.  This  was  very  fine  for  the 
church  and  a  town  the  size  of  this  one  at 
that  time.  He  must  have  put  a  great  deal 

253 


FOREST  FLOYD 
Superintendent  1910-1914 


254 


of  his  time  to  the  Sunday  School  Work. 

In  1915,  D.  F.  Hord  gave  the  church  an- 
other year  of  his  services  as  superinten- 
dent. This  was  the  first  time  any  one  had 
been  elected  a  second  time.  He  did  well  dur- 
ing the  year,  holding  the  school  to  the 
large  number  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
nine.  He  had  so  many  other  duties  that  he 
could  not  hold  the  place  but  one  year.  He 
was  clerk  of  the  church  and  one  of  the 
deacons. 

Brother  J.  C.  Baumgardner  was  elected 
superintendent  in  1916,  and  served  for  four 
years.  The  school  did  well  under  his  admin- 
istration.    He  enrolled  three  hundred  in 

1916,  three  hundred  and  eighty   nine  in 

1917,  and  two  hundred  and  ninety  one  in 

1918,  This  was  the  most  trying  time  we 
have  ever  had  for  church  work  in  this 
country.  The  World  War  was  on  us,  and 
our  hearts  were  bleeding.  Gloom  and  de- 
spair were  hanging  over  all  the  land,  and  I 
might  say,  the  world.  Hearts  were  bleeding 
the  world  over.  No  sadder  time  has  ever 
been  known  since  the  world  began.  The  en- 
rollment was  fine  for  the  condition  of  the 
country  at  that  time.  He  did  a  most  won- 
derful work  for  the  Sunday  School  and  is 
still  active  in  church  work.  He  is  now 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  deacons,  and  an 
active  Sunday  School  worker, 

255 


Marvin  Ledford,  a  young  man  of  prom- 
ise, succeeded  Brother  Baumgardner  in 
1920.  He  did  not  serve  but  one  year,  but  did 
well.  He  was  a  student  in  Richmond  college 
and  could  not  hold  the  position  of  Superin- 
tendent any  longer.  Three  hundred  and 
thirty  were  enrolled  during  his  adminis- 
tration. He  is  now  in  Gastonia,  but  is  still 
interested  in  church  work.  He  is  a  son  of 
one  of  our  most  loyal  members,  Brother 
Lee  Ledford. 

R.  C.  Gold  succeeded  Marvin  Ledford, 
and  served  just  one  year,  but  he  did  well. 
Five  hundred  and  twenty  five  were  enroll- 
ed during  this  term  of  office.  This  was  the 
largest  number  enrolled  up  to  this  time.  I 
have  not  learned  what  caused  this  wonder- 
ful jump,  but  he  must  have  had  some  good 
loyal  teachers  to  help  him,  or  he  could 
never  had  done  so  much  in  so  short  a  time. 

Brother  Gold  was  succeed  by  Editor  G. 
G.  Page  in  1922.  He  has  been  superinten- 
dent since  that  time.  He  had  two  hundred 
and  seven  enrolled  the  first  year  of  his  ser- 
vice, three  hundred  and  eighty  four  in  1923, 
three  hundred  and  eighty  seven  in  1924, 
seven  hundred  and  forty  eight  in  1925,  and 
nine  hundred  and  six  in  1926.  The 
year  is  just  begun.  We  cannot  tell  what  we 
are  going  to  have  before  it  is  out.  Our  aim 
is  one  thousand,  and  I  am  sure   that  we 

256 


G.  G.  VAUK 
Superintendent  1932-1926 


257 


are  going  to  reach  it  if  we  keep  working  as 
we  have  been  for  the  past  three  months. 
The  School  now  has  one  of  the  best  set  of 
teachers  I  have  ever  seen,  and  the  interest 
is  the  best  I  have  ever  had  at  this  season 
of  the  year.  It  is  now  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  quarter,  and  we  are  still  growing. 

Brother  Page  is  a  tireless  worker,  and  a 
Sunday  School  enthusiast.  It  takes  all  of 
these  characteristics  to  make  a  good  super- 
intendent. He  is  improving  every  week, 
and  keeps  studying  the  work  as  the  weeks 
go  by.  Our  teacher's  meeting  is  the  best  I 
have  ever  seen,  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  there  is  none  better  in  the  stats. 
The  teacher's  meeting  is  almost  as  large 
a  gathering  as  the  prayer  meeting.  The 
interest  the  teachers  show  is  most  wonder- 
ful. If  they  keep  interested  as  they  now 
are,  we  |are  going  to  have  one  of  the  great- 
est revivals  here  this  year  this  town  has 
ever  known  anything  about. 

The  Sunday  School  has  some  very 
noticeable  features  I  now  wish  to  mention. 
It  is  not  an  ordinary  Sunday  School  at  all. 
It  went  into  the  standard  list  last  year, 
This  was  the  first  time  it  has  ever  been  a 
standard  Sunday  School.  When  the  work 
was  begun  in  1925,  it  was  not  thought  that 
we  could  reach  the  standard  so  easily,  but 
we  did.  It  took  hard  work  to  reach  it  so 

258 


soon,  but  we  did  it,  and  what  is  more,  the 
School  is  still  standard  for  1926.  The  Stand- 
ard was  reached  very  early  in  the  year,  so 
now  we  have  two  penants  displayed  in  our 
church.  The  double  standard  is  the  next 
goal.  If  our  teaching  force  continues  to 
study  and  keeps  consecrated  to  the  work  as 
they  now  are,  we  will  reach  the  double 
standard  within  one  year.  The  church  can- 
not afford  to  stop  short  of  such  a  high  aim. 
The  school  has  some  of  the  very  best  talent 
in  the  town,  and  we  have  the  organization 
it  takes  to  place  it  on  the  double  standard 
list.  All  the  church  needs  is  to  keep  it  mov- 
ing as  it  is  now  going,  and  the  goal  will 
soon  be  reached. 

The  Sunday  School  has  some  of  the  very 
best  organized  classes  to  be  found  in  the 
south.  It  has  two  men's  classes,  and  four 
ladies  classes  just  about  as  fine  as  you  can 
find  in  the  south.  The  Business  Men's  class 
is  the  one  composed  of  mature  men.  It  now 
has  an  enrollment  of  one  hundred  and  six- 
ty one  men.  This  class  is  one  of  the  most 
powerful  in  the  Sunday  School.  It  is  com- 
posed of  some  of  the  very  best  men  our 
country  affords,  Many  of  our  leading  busi- 
ness men  are  members  of  this  class.  The 
cashier  of  The  Peoples  Loan  and  Trust 
Company  is  the  president  of  it.  This  is  Mr. 
M.  E.  Herndon,  He  is  known  here  as  Elmer 

259 


Herndon,  but  the  town  has  confidence  in 
him,  and  the  class  acts  upon  his  advice  in 
almost  anything.  J.  M.  Rhea  is  the  First 
Vice  President.  He  is  one  of  the  most  up- 
to-date-business  men  we  have  in  our  town. 
He  is  the  leading  member  of  The  J.  M.  Rhea 
and  Company,  Jobbers.  J.  E.  Lipford  is  the 
second  Vice  President.  He  is  a  fine  busi- 
ness, man.  J.  R.  Roberts  is  the  third  Vice 
president.  He  is  superintendent  of  the  Cora 
mill.  He  too,  is  a  very  fine  business  man. 
The  secretary  is  Mr.  S.  S.  Weir.  He  is  post 
master  of  the  city  of  Kings  Mountain,  and 
the  treasurer  is  Clarence  E.  Carpenter,  one 
of  the  assistant  cashiers  of  The  Peoples 
Loan  and  Trust  Company.  Miss  Vera  Corn- 
well  is  the  pianist.  Robert  H.  Hord  is  lead- 
er of  the  orchestra.  B.  D.  Ratterree  is  the 
chorister.  All  of  the  men  are  noble  fellows 
like  these  I  have  named  as  officers  of  the 
class.  Its  membership  represents  almost 
every  phase  of  our  business  life.  It  has 
mill  men  in  it,  grocerymen,  preachers,  po- 
lice, and  almost  anything  we  have  in  our 
city.  The  teacher  is  the  present  pastor  of 
the  church,  and  the  author  of  this  little 
book. 

During  the  year  of  1925,  the  class  bought 
a  nice  new  piano  and  placed  it  in  their 
class  room. 

It  gave  tne  baptist  Orphanage  at  Thorn- 
260 


asville,  N.  C,  more  than  a  hundred  dollars 
in  money  and  kind,  it  subscribed  six  hund- 
red and  sixty  five  dollars  to  the  teacher  as 
a  present  for  his  services  as  teacher  of 
the  class,  and  did  many  other  noble  things 
along  financial  lines.  One  of  its  members 
painted  the  church  on  the  outside,  and  oth- 
ers did  much  toward  painting  the  inside 
of  the  church.  It  has  subscribed  forty  five 
dollars  to  pay  the  tuition  of  a  ministerial 
student  at  Boiling  Springs  High  School 
this  year. 

The  other  Men's  class  is  the  Berean.  It 
is  a  powerful  force  for  good.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  composed  of  young  men.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  present  officers' of  this  class; 
President,  G.  C.  McClure,  first  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Glee  A.  Bridges,  second  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Charlie  Spearman,  third  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Otto  Riser,  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
Eugene  Matthews,  Teacher,  Prof.  John  Y, 
Irvin,  Assistant  Teacher,  Leonidas  M.  Lo- 
gan. This  is  a  fine  set  of  men,  and  they 
are  doing  a  great  work.  The  class  now  has 
one  hundred  and  fifty  one  enrolled,  and  is 
working  hard  to  get  every  possibility  en- 
rolled within  the  next  few  weeks.  This 
class  has  meant  much  to  the  church  and 
town. 

The  Sunday  School  lias  several  other  or- 
ganized classes,  but  the)  cuc  not  so  large 

261 


as  those  mentioned  above.  The  Euzelian 
Class  is  a  very  fine  organization.  It  is  com- 
posed of  young  ladies  between  sixteen  and 
twenty.  Mrs.  G.  C.  McClure  is  the  efficient 
teacher.  D.  F.  Hord  has  a  very  fine  class 
of  intermediate  boys.  His  class  is  well  or- 
ganized and  is  doing  a  great  work.  In 
fact,  all  of  the  classes  in  the  junior  and  in- 
termediate departments  are  organized,  but 
details  of  their  work  will  not  be  gone  into 
just  yet.  This  will  come  later. 

One  of  the  most  up-to-date  departments 
we  have  in  our  Sunday  School  is  The  Home 
Makers  Department.  The  following  story 
tells  what  it  is  and  why  it  is:  The  T.  E.  L, 
Class  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  was  or- 
ganized July  1916  by  Mrs.  W.  R.  Beach, 
wife  of  Rev.  W.  R.  Beach  who  was  pastor 
of  the  church  at  that  time.  The  class  was 
begun  with  sixteen  charter  members.  Mrs, 
W.  R.  Beach  was  elected  teacher  when  it 
was  organized,  and  served  in  this  capacity 
for  four  years.  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon  was 
elected,  the  second  teacher  of  the  class,  and 
she  served  faithfully  for  two  years.  The 
following  ladies  have  served  one  year  each 
as  teacher  of  this  class:  Mrs.  R.  C.  Gold, 
Mrs.  J.  S-  Norman,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott,  and 
Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord.  Mrs.  Hord  is  the  present 
teacher  of  the  class. 

The  following  ladies  have  served  as 
262 


presidents  of  the  class:  Mrs.  Joe  Cole,  Mrs. 
Charlie  Stowe,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Baker,  Mrs. 
Forest  Floyd,  Mrs.  Lula  Woodward,  Mrs. 
H.  M.  Houser,  and  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott. 

The  following  have  served  as  Recording 
Secretaries:  Mrs.  F.  C.  Nye,  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Sims,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Stowe,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott, 
who  is  the  present  Recording  Secretary. 

At  the  annual  business  meeting  of  the 
class  held  July,  1924,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon 
was  elected  president  of  the  class.  When 
she  took  charge  of  the  work  the  class  seem- 
ed to  realize  that  it  was  not  reaching  the 
ladies  of  the  church  as  it  should.  When 
the  church  roll  was  consulted  by  them, 
they  found  that  there  were  more  than  a 
hundred  married  ladies,  members  of  our 
church  who  ought  to  be  enlisted  in  the 
Sunday  School  work.  The  older  ladies  were 
enlisted  more  than  the  younger  ones,  so  the 
class  decided  that  something  must  be  done 
at  once  to  reach  its  possibilities,  .especially 
our  young  married  women.  A  business 
meeting  was  held  the  following  November 
to  consider  the  advisability  of  organizing 
the  new  class,  and  wThen  the  matter  was 
given  due  consideration,  it  was  deemed 
wise  to  have  another  class  composed  of 
young  married  ladies.  Another  meeting 
was  called  December  7th,  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  the  new  class,  which  meeting 

263 


was  held,  and  at  this  meeting  The  Home 
Makers'  Department  of  the  Adult  Depart- 
ment of  the  Sunday  School  was  organized. 
This  department  was  composed  of  the  T. 
E.  L.  Class  and  the  new  class,  which  they 
named  The  Eunice  Class.  Eight  of  the 
members  of  the  T.  E.  L.  Class  joined  the 
new  class,  and  ten  others  joined,  making 
the  class  begin  with  eighteen  members. 
The  class  now  has  about  forty  members. 

Mrs.  Raymond  Cline  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  new  class,  and  Mrs.  Ben  Wille- 
f  ord,  teacher.  Both  were  energetic  Sunday 
School  workers,  and  they  put  their  souls 
into  this  new  work.  The  class  has  grown 
steadily  since  its  organization.  It  has  every 
meeting  required  by  the  standard  of  excel- 
lence to  make  this  class  A-l.  The  social 
meetings  of  this  class  are  well  attended, 
and  so  are  all  of  the  other  meetings.  The 
class  attendance  is  very  low  sometimes,  due 
of  course,  to  health  conditions.  Young 
mothers  cannot  attend  as  regularly  as 
those  who  do  not  have  small  children  to 
care  for.  The  members  of  the  class  are 
looked  after  very  carefully,  and  when  help 
is  needed,  the  ladies  always  give  it. 

As  has  been  stated  above,  the  T.  E.  L. 
Class  had  to  give  up  eight  of  its  members 
to  form  the  Eunice  Class,  but  this  did  not 
injure  the  T.  E.  L.  Class.    It  soon  gained 

264 


other  eight  and  then  many  more.  The  class 
now  has  more  than  fifty  members,  and 
they  are  all  interested.  This  class  has  done 
an  enormous  amount  of  good,  and  is  trying 
harder  than  ever  to  increase  the  class  to 
the  limit  of  its  possibilities. 

Both  classes  are  properly  organized,  and 
have  all  their  meetings,  except  the  Sunday 
morning  meeting,  in  the  homes  of  the  mem- 
bers. In  October  1925,  these  classes  decided 
to  use  the  six  point  record  system.  Both 
classes  have  nice  record  boards  and  keep 
a  complete  record  of  every  meeting  of  the 
classes. 

They  have  an  extra  report  they  make 
every  Sunday.  This  is  the  personal  service 
report.  This  work  has  been  worth  much  to 
both  classes.  Last  year,  the  T.  E.  L.  Class 
furnished  milk  and  food  to  an  old  man  at 
the  Sadie  Mill  for  more  than  six  months. 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Gates  was  appointed  by  the 
class  to  look  after  him,  and  when  she  need- 
ed anything,  she  reported  it  to  the  class. 
The  class  cared  for  him  until  he  died  some- 
time during  the  autumn  of  1925.  It  is  still 
caring  for  all  who  need  help  so  far  as  they 
feel  able  and  responsible. 

During  the  early  part  of  1925  the  Eunice 
class  began  taking  free  will  offerings  for 
shrubbery  to  beautify  the  church  grounds, 
and  in  the  autumn  the  work  was  under- 

265 


taken.  More  than  three  hundred  dollars 
worth  of  shrubbery  was  bought  and  plant- 
ed on  the  church  yard.  The  grounds  were 
plowed,  fertilized,  and  sowed  in  lawn  grass 
seed.  Today,  we  have  one  of  the  nicest 
yards  in  the  county,  and  of  course,  it  will  be 
much  prettier  when  the  trees  begin  to 
grow,  and  when  the  grass  gets  large 
enough  to  use  a  lawn  mower  on  it.  All  of 
this  work  was  planned  by  The  Eunice 
Class.  Many  who  are  not  members  of  this 
class  contributed  to  the  work,  but  the 
movement  was  put  on  foot  by  the  Eunice 
Glass. 

The  Home  Makers'  Department  tries  to 
co-operate  with  the  Superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  School  and  their  pastor  in  every 
way  they  can.  It  is  one  of  the  mightiest 
forces  we  have  in  our  church,  and  if  it  con- 
tinues to  grow  as  fast  in  the  future  as  it 
has  for  the  past  two  years,  it  is  going  to 
become  much  stronger  than  it  now  is. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers  of 
these  classes: 

EUNICE  BIBLE  CLASS. 

President,  Mrs.  Ben  Long. 
First  Vice  President,  Mrs.  0.  R.  Long. 
Second  Vice  Pres.,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Carpenter. 
Third  Vice  Pres.,  Mrs.  Pearl  Barrett. 
Class  Secretary,  Mrs.  D.  G.  Littlejohn 
266 


Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Cline. 
Treasurer,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Loden. 
Reporter,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Hullender. 
Teacher,  Mrs.  Ben  R.  Willeford. 
Assistant  Teacher,  Mrs.  J.  K.  Willis. 

The  following  are  the  officers  of  the  T. 
E.  L.  Class  for  the  year  1926; 

President,  Mrs.  Lula  Woodward. 
First  Vice  President,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Roberts. 
Second  Vice  President,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Stowe. 
Third  Vice  President,  Mrs.  C.  A.  Oates, 
Class  Secretary,  Mrs.  F.  C.  Wilson. 
Recording  Secretary,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott. 
Treasurer,  Mrs.  L.  M.  Logan. 
Reporter,  Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter. 
Teacher,  Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord. 
Assistant  Teacher,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Houser. 

ENLARGEMENT  DIVISION 

E.  B.  C.  T.  E.  L. 

Mrs.  0.  R.  Long.  Mrs.  J.  R.  Roberts 

MEMBERSHIP  AND  ABSENTEE 
COMMITTEE 

Mrs.  J.  Y.  Irvin  Mrs.  J.  E.  Cole 

Mrs.  J.  M.  Rhea  Mrs.  Mattie  Dixon 

HOME  DEPARTMENT 
Mrs.  A.  H.  Sims,  Superintendent. 

VISITORS: 

267 


r  Mrs.  G.  D.  Hambright. 

Mrs.  J.  H.  Davis. 
Mrs.  L.  M.  Logan. 
Miss  Lettie  Baumgardner. 

CRADLE  ROLL  DEPARTMENT 
Mrs.  J.  K.  Willis,  Superintendent. 

VISITORS: 

Mrs.  Frank  Webster. 
Mrs.  Joe  McDaniel. 
Mrs.  Wade  H.  Short. 

They  have  several  more  committees,  but 
it  is  too  tedious  to  mention  all  of  them. 
This  book  is  not  a  report  of  all  that  any 
one  organzation  is  doing,  but  a  sketch  of 
the  organization. 

Every  phase  of  the  work  done  by  this 
department  is  wonderful.  This  division  is 
being  looked  after  more  closely  than  any 
other  department  of  our  work.  The  Cradle 
Roll  has  been  worked  until  it  now  has  an 
enrollment  of  more  than  eighty,  and  the 
Home  Department  is  flourishing  also. 
Many  other  things  are  being  done  by  this 
division  that  the  other  classes  have  not  un- 
dertaken. 

There  is  not  but  one  other  church  in  this 
state  with  this  department  in  it.  This  is 
The  Brown  Memorial  Baptist  church  at 
Winston-Salem,  N.  C.  Mrs.  W.  R.  Jones  is 
president  of  it.  She  visited  the  one  at  the 

268 


First  Baptist  Church  here  last  fall  and 
made  quite  an  interesting  speech  at  the 
social  meeting  of  the  two  classes.  The  one 
at  Winston  was  organized  just  a  little 
while  before  the  one  here,  but  Mrs.  Hern- 
don  had  the  idea  already,  and  if  she  could 
have  carried  out  her  plans,  would  have 
been  the  first  to  have  a  department  of  this 
kind. 

The  following  have  been  secretaries  of 
the  Sundav  School:  1902  and  1903,  Kelly 
McCullough,  1904,  W.  M.  Kellar,  1905,  Kel- 
ly McCullough,  1906,  M.  E.  Herndon,  1908- 
1922,  W.  T.  Parker,  1923-25,  Willie  F.  Mc- 
Gill.  W.  T.  Parker  and  R.  C.  Gold  are  as- 
sistant secretaries  and  arrange  the  score 
board  for  the  weekly  reports  of  the  Sun- 
day School. 

There  was  no  secretary  reported  to  the 
association  until  1902.  There  may  have 
been  one,  but  there  is  no  record  of  it. 

From  the  beginning  until  now,  the  Sun- 
day School  has  not  had  but  five  secretar- 
ies. This  speaks  well  for  the  work  done  by 
the  brethren  who  have  served  in  this  ca- 
pacity. 

The  secretary  has  always  been  treasurer 
of  the  Sunday  School.  This  enables  this  of- 
ficer to  take  care  of  the  literature  and  oth- 
er things  the  school  has  to  carry  on  the  bus- 
iness of  the  church  from  this  angle. 

269 


The  Sunday  School  has  one  of  the 
best  set  of  officers  it  has  ever  had.  They 
are  all  trying  to  do  their  duty  in  trying  to 
carry  out  the  program  of  the  church. 

This  church  has  one  of  the  best  Sunday 
Schools  in  the  state.  It  became  a  standard 
Sunday  School  last  year,  and  has  already 
gotten  its  pennant  for  the  year  of  1926,  but 
this  counts  for  nothing  unless  there  is  real 
service.  The  writer  is  glad  to  say  that 
there  is  service.  The  teachers  have  become 
more  consecrated  than  they  were  last  year, 
and  this  is  not  saying  anything  detrimen- 
tal either.  They  are  keeping  themselves 
away  from  questionable  places  and  ques- 
tionable things,  and  they  are  attending  the 
weekly  teacher's  meetings  a  great  deal  bet- 
ter than  they  did  last  year.  They  are 
studying  their  work  much  better.  Several 
things  have  brought  this  about.  The  Gener- 
al Superintendent  gets  out  a  weekly  bulle- 
tin for  the  teacher's  meeting.  This  has  a 
program  in  it,  which  assigns  every  teacher 
his  or  her  part.  Items  of  interest  are  also 
mentioned  in  this  bulletin,  and  the  pro- 
gram for  the  following  Sunday.  This  has 
meant  much  to  the  teacher's  meeting  and 
more  to  the  Sunday  School.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  quarter  1925,  we  began 
using  graded  literature  in  the  Beginners, 
Primary,  Junior,  and  Intermediate  depart- 

270 


ments.  This  has  had  much  to  do  with  thg 
interest  taken  by  both  teachers  and  pupils. 
The  teachers  cannot  teach  this  literature 
without  studying  their  lessons,  and  when 
they  study,  the  pupils  do  likewise.  Several 
more  class  rooms  have  been  been  built,  and 
better  equipment  has  been  placed  in  the 
class  rooms.  This  has  added  much  to  the 
interest  of  the  teachers  and  the  children, 
Much  more  is  needed  yet,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  before  this  year  (1926)  ends  that  we 
may  have  little  chairs  and  sand  tables  for 
all  of  the  lower  grades,  and  tables  and 
chairs  for  the  Juniors  and  Intermediates* 
This  is  going  to  have  to  be  done  to  keep 
the  Sunday  School  moving  as  it  should. 
The  church  now  has  fourteen  Sunday 
School  rooms,  but  it  needs  thirty  at  the; 
very  least.  The  church  owns  the  land  for 
the  needed  improvements,  and  it  is  not  go-- 
ing  to  be  very  long  until  the  building  pro- 
gram is  going  to  be  put  into  action. 

The  Sunday  School  is  the  evangelistic 
phase  of  the  church's  work.  In  1925,  near- 
ly fifty  were  baptised  from  the  Sunday 
School,  and  yet  no  revival  meeting  was 
held  during  the  entire  year.  The  teacher^ 
and  the  pastor  did  the  work.  The  same 
idea  is  being  carried  out  this  year,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  we  may  baptise  more  than  we 
did  last  year,  though  we  have  not  baptised 


lis  many  as  we  did  up  to  this  time  last 
year.  The  Sunday  School  is  getting  ready 
for  a  decision  day.  This  will  tell  the  tale 
better  than  any  other  thing  can.  This  will 
tell  just  how  much  interested  the  teachers 
sre,  and  it  will  tell  also  how  much  influ- 
ence they  have  with  their  classes.  There  can 
be  no  better  or  more  successful  evange- 
lists than  the  Sunday  School  teachers  if 
they  are  consecrated  as  they  should  be* 
They  can  do  nothing  if  they  are  not.  The 
pastor  looks  to  the  teachers  and  their  as- 
sistants for  the  personal  work  of  the 
church.  By  doing  the  evangelistic  work  of 
the  church  in  this  way,  the  church  has  a 
regular  and  steady  growth.  This  adds  so 
much  to  the  life  and  efficiency  of  the 
church.  It  is  so  fine  to  have  the  baptistry 
filled  every  Sunday  and  to  see  those  who 
have  surrendered  their  lives  to  the  Blessed 
Master  witness  for  him  in  the  baptismal 
waters  regularly.  Too  many  of  our  church- 
es have  their  baptisteries  for  ornament, 
rather  than  for  service.  This  is  solemn 
mockery.  If  the  Sunday  School  functions 
as  it  should,  you  are  going  to  have  it  in 
use  every  week. 

The  present  outlook  of  the  Sunday 
School  is  very  encouraging  indeed.  We  are 
better  equipped  than  we  were  last  year, 
and  our  folks  are  much  more  interested* 

272 


The  Sunday  School  has  gained  some  noto- 
riety, people  are  talking  about  it,  and  we 
have  many  to  visit  from  other  towns  and 
other  churches.  This  adds  much  to  the  out- 
look of  the  work. 

Some  of  our  needs  at  present.  First,  the 
Sunday  School  needs  better  equipment 
chairs,  blackboards,  tables,  musical  instru- 
ments, toys  for  the  beginners  department, 
crib  beds  for  the  Cradle  Roll  Department, 
song  books  suitable  for  little  tots,  and  six- 
teen more  rooms  with  as  many  teachers 
added  to  our  force.  These  are  reasonable 
things  to  ask  for,  but  they  are  not  all  that 
the  Sunday  School  needs. 
If  the  Baptists  will  consecrate  themselves 
to  the  service  of  the  Lord,  if  they  will 
put  the  work  of  their  church  first,  if  they 
will  not  be  too  tender  with  their  dollars, 
and  if  they  will  ask  the  Lord  for  a  vision  of 
the  possibilities  of  the  Baptist  cause  here, 
we  can  soon  have  the  most  wonderful 
church  in  the  whole  south  land. 

The  following  is  the  General  Superinten- 
dent's report  at  the  close  of  the  first  quar- 
ter of  1926: 

REPORT  OF  GENERAL  SUPERINTEN- 
DENT OF  THE  FIRST  BAPTIST  SUN- 
DAY SCHOOL  TO  THE   CHURCH  IN 

CONFERENCE  MARCH  31,  1926, 
Dear  Brethren  and  Sisters: 

273 


As  the  General  Superintendent  of  your4 
Sunday  School,  I  beg  to  submit  the  follow^ 
ing  quarterly  report: 

RETROSPECT 

Last  Sunday  closed  the  second  quarter 
of  this  current  year  and  marks  the  close 
of  six  months  as  a  Standard  Sunday  School 
for  our  church. 

During  the  last  quarter  our  school  has 
shown  a  steady  growth  in  enrollment.  Dur- 
ing all  the  winter  weather  our  attendance 
has  held  up  remarkably  well.  The  present 
enrollment  is  821,  the  highest  in  the  history 
of  the  Sunday  School. 

There  has  been  constant  improvement  in 
the  quality  of  work  done  in  the  classes.  Our 
teaching  force  is  the  best  organized  and 
best  equipped  we  have  ever  had  and  the 
teachers  are  appearing  before  their  classes 
unusually  well  prepared.  The  better  grade 
of  teaching  is  prompting  a  fine  response 
from  the  pupils.  The  matter  of  discipline  in 
the  classes  up  through  the  intermediates 
has  been  solved  through  the  use  of  graded 
literature  and  better  prepared  teachers. 

The  weekly  meeting  of  teachers  and  of- 
ficers held  each  Friday  night  is  steadily 
growing  in  importance  in  its  relation  to 
the  work  of  the  Sunday  School  and  church. 
Your  superintendent  attributes  a  large 
measure  of  the  general  advancement  of  the 

274 


Work  to  this  weekly  meeting. 

Our  contributions  have  been  very  good. 
Our  response  to  the  distress  call  from  the 
Thomasville  orphanage  when  fire  destroy- 
en  one  of  the  buildings  was  unmatched  by 
any  other  school  in  the  state.  The  teachers 
very  effectively  put  the  claims  of  Home  and 
Foreign  Missions  before  their  classes  last 
Sunday  and  we  contributed  above  $41.00. 

But  we  are  woefully  short  on  professions 
from  the  school. 

PROSPECT 

Promotion  day  is  only  six  months  ahead. 
The  first  Sunday  in  October  we  shall  need 
several  new  class  rooms  to  house  the  in- 
creased number  of  classes  that  will  neces- 
sarily result  from  the  use  of  graded  litera- 
ture. Under  the  graded  system  pupils  from 
the  Beginners  on  up  through  the  Intermed- 
iates are  promoted  each  year  instead  of 
?each  four  years  and  three  years  as  hereto- 
fore. 

Your  superintendent  desires  to  lay  the 
matter  of  additional  room  upon  the  heart 
of  the  church  and  recommends  that  some 
action  be  taken  looking  toward  the  con- 
struction of  additional  space  for  class  use, 
and  that  such  provision  be  made  by  Octo- 
ber first  this  year. 

Respectfully  submitted, 
CL  €k  PAGE, 
-275  . 


General  Superintendent. 

Adopted  by  the  church  in  conference 
March  31,  1926. 

C.  J.  Black,  Moderator,  C.  E,  Carpenter, 
Clerk. 

The  above  report  shows  the  standing  of 
the  Sunday  School  at  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  1926. 

NOTE — Much  work  has  beejn  done  toward  construct- 
ing this  new  department  recomimiciiided  by  the  General 
Superintendent,  but  it  has  been  a  hard  pull.  It  is  so 
hard  to  get  folks  who  are  not  interested  In  religious 
work  to  see  tihe  importance  of  such  a  thing  as  a  five 
Uhousalnd  dollar  annex. 


276 


CHAPTER  X 


WHEN  ORGANIZED,  THE  FIRST 
PRESIDENT,  THE  FIRST  SECRETARY 

Divided  Into  Circles,  What  It  Has  Meant 
To  The  Work  Here. 

The  Woman's  Missionary  Society  is  al* 
most  as  old  as  the  church  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain. A  Miss  Gold  who  had  been  trained 
for  a  missionary  came  here  to  visit  her 
brother  who  was  in  business,  and  while 
here,  organized  the  first  W.  M.  U.  the 
church  ever  had.  Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter 
was  elected  the  first  president,  Mrs.  J.  T, 
Kendrick,  the  first  Secretary,  and  Mrs* 
George  Cornwell  the  first  Treasurer,  and 
the  following  names  were  the  first  mem- 
bers: Mrs.  J.  C.  Baumgardner,  Mrs.  L.  R. 
Reynolds,  Mrs.  James  Dickey,  Mrs.  Jim 
Ramsey,  Mrs.  J.  M.  Hord,  Annie  Rachaei 
Dixon,  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Falls,  Mrs.  Caroline 
Long,  and  Mrs.  A.  E.  Watson,  and  Annie 
Jane  Barrett  This  society  lived  about  four 
years,  and  then  it  became  almost  extinct, 
but  it  did  a  great  deal  of  good  while  it 
lasted.  The  associational  minutes  do  not 
give  any  reports  from  any  of  the  societies 
until  1904,  So  it  is  hard  to  say  just  what 
the  ladies  did  tefor^  that  time, 
277 


When  Rev.  A.  H.  Sims  took  charge  of  the 
church  in  1901,  there  was  no  missionary 
society  here,  but  his  wife  reorganized  it  in 
1902,  or  possibly  1903.  The  first  report 
from  it  was  made  in  1904.  At  this  time  Mrs, 
Sims  was  president,  and  the  society  had 
twTelve  members.  There  has  been  an  organ- 
ization until  the  present  time, 

Mrs.  Sims  was  president  during  the  year 
of  1905.  The  society  then  had  twenty  one 
members,  and  paid  considerably  to  the  mis- 
sion work  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Con- 
vention. She  was  president  of  the  society 
during  the  year  of  1906.  The  society  then 
bad  twenty  four  members  and  paid  the  fol- 
lowing amounts:  State  Missions,  $14.00; 
Home  Missions,  $11.00 ;  other  objects,  $55.- 
00.  Total  $88.00. 

The  above  figures  show  that  the  society 
was  not  asleep. 

Mrs.  J.  J.  Beach  was  president  during 
the  year  of  1907.  The  society  then  had  thir- 
ty two  members,  and  contributed  $164.00 
to  all  objects.  The  year's  work  was  a  con- 
siderable increase  over  the  previous  one. 
They  had  more  members  and  raised  much 
more  money. 

Miss  Hattie  Kendrick  was  president  dur- 
ing the  year  of  1908.  The  society  did  not 
have  but  thirty  members  at  the  close  of 
this  year,  and  paid  $36.00  to   all  objects, 

278 


This  was  such  a  falling  off  from  what  it 
was  the  year  before  that  it  is  hard  to  tell 
just  what  was  the  cause  of  this  decline. 

Mrs.  Forest  Floyd  was  Vice  President 
during  this  year,  Miss  Emma  Cornwell, 
Secretary,  and  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ware,  Treasur- 
er. 

In  1909,  Mrs.  J.  J.  Beach  was  president 
of  the  W.  M.  S.  Mrs.  Forest  Floyd  Vice 
President,  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ware,  Treasurer,  and 
Miss  Emma  Cornwell,  Secretary.  The  so- 
ciety reported  thirty  members,  and  $313.- 
35  raised  for  all  objects.  This  was  a  very 
fine  year  for  the  society.  It  seemed  to  have 
been  in  a  very  healthy  condition.  Mrs. 
Beach  left  in  the  early  fall  of  1909,  and  Mrs. 
Bomer  was  elected  president  in  October* 
She  continued  until  January  of  the  follow- 
ing year.  She  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  J.  M. 
Hamrlck,  who  served  until  the  following 
July,  then  Mrs.  Callie  Carpenter  was  again 
elected  president.  The  society  reported 
thirty  four  members  that  year,  but  a  great 
decrease  in  money  raised  for  all  objects. 
Miss  Clara  Carpenter  was  secretary  from 
July  1910  until  the  close  of  the  year.  Mrs. 
Forest  Floyd  was  elected  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  of  the  W.  M.  U.  in  October  1910. 

Mrs.  Carpenter  was  president  during 
the  year  of  1911,  and  Mrs.  Floyd  remained 
secretary  and  treasurer.  This  year  the  so- 

279 


ciety  reported  twenty  four  members-  and 
twenty  six  dollars  and  twenty  two  cents 
raised. 

During  the  first  part  of  1912,  Mrs.  Callie 
Carpenter  was  president  of  the  W.  M.  S. 
and  Mrs.  Forest  Floyd  was  Secretary  and 
Treasurer.  Mrs.  J.  G.  Graham  was  presi- 
dent during  the  latter  part  of  the  year, 
and  was  president  when  the  association 
met  in  the  fall.  Mrs.  J.  C.  Baumgardner 
was  Secretary.  The  society  reported  twen- 
ty eight  members  that  year,  and  forty  four 
dollars  and  forty  three  cents  raised  for  all 
objects. 

The  report  for  1913  is  not  complete.  The 
associational  minutes  fail  to  say  who  was 
president,  or  how  much  the  churches  gave 
for  all  objects  of  the  Convention.  Mrs. 
John  R.  Miller  was  president,  Mrs.  E.  J. 
Abbott,  Secretary,  and  Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord, 
Treasurer.  The  society  now  had  twenty 
nine  members  and  gave  $104.85  to  all  ob- 
jects of  the  Convention. 

Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott  was  elected  president 
of  the  W.  M.  U.  January  12,  1915.  Mrs.  C. 
T.  Cornwell  was  elected  Vice  President, 
and  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon,  Secretary,  Mrs. 
G.  E.  Lovell,  Assistant  Secretary,  and  Mrs 
D.  F.  Hord,  Treasurer.  No  associational 
figures  were  given  in  the  minutes  this 
year.  The  minute  is  not  complete  in  many 

280 


ways. 

Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott  was  reelected  presi- 
dent of  the  W.  M.  U.  June  13th.,  1916,  with 
Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord  Secretary.  The  society  re- 
ported twenty  five  members  to  the  associa- 
tion that  fall,  and  $53.34  raised  for  all  ob- 
jects. Mrs.  Forest  Floyd  was  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  society  at  this  time.  Rev.  W.  R. 
Beach  was  pastor  of  the  church.  His  wife 
suggested  that  the  society  be  divided  into 
circles  for  the  better  and  safer  develop- 
ment of  the  ladies,  so  the  following  circles 
were  organized  during  1916: 

No.  1.  THE  ATTIE  BOSTIC  CIRCLE. 

Mrs.  W.  R.  Beach  was  elected  the  first 
leader  of  this  circle. 

No.  2.  THE  FANNIE  HECK  CIRCLE. 

Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon  was  elected  the  first 
leader  of  this  circle. 

No.  3.  THE  JUDSON  CIRCLE. 

Mrs.  Charlie  Stowe  was  elected  the  first 
leader  of  this  circle. 

These  circles  are  still  alive  and  active. 
The  idea  was  a  great  one,  and  has  done 
much  good  for  the  work  of  the  missionary 
society  of  the  church. 

Mrs.  Abbott  was  continued  as  president 
of  the  W.  M.  S.  during  the  year  of  1917. 
Mrs.  C.  T.  Cornwell  was  Vice  President, 
Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord,  Secretary,  and  Mrs.  R.  C. 
Baker,  Treasurer.     The  society  reported 

281 


thirty  members  to  the  association  and 
$179.35  raised  for  all  objects. 

Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott  was  still  president 
during  the  year  of  1919  and  Mrs.  D.  F. 
Hord  Secretary.  No  vice  president  is  nam- 
ed in  the  report.  No  report  is  given  in  the 
minutes  of  that  association  for  that  year. 
The  minutes  are  almost  a  failure  because 
of  some  misprint  in  them.  They  do  not  con- 
tain very  much  information. 

The  minutes  state  that  Mrs.  Abbott  was 
still  president  of  the  W.  M.  S.  during  the 
year  of  1920,  and  that  Mrs.  Joe  Crawford 
was  Vice  president,  and  Mrs.  Doris  Little- 
john,  Secretary.  The  society  reported  thir- 
ty five  members  this  year  and  the  sum  of 
$674.02  raised  for  all  objects.  This  was  the 
best  year  in  the  history  of  the  W.  M.  U. 
work  at  Kings  Mountain.  Mrs.  Abbott  was 
still  president  of  the  society  during  the 
year  of  1921.  Mrs.  Charlie  Stowe  was  vice 
president  and  Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord  was  Secre- 
tary until  November  of  that  year.  Mrs. 
Raymond  Cline  was  elected  secretary  in 
November.  Mrs.  Hord  had  resigned.  The 
society  was  in  a  good  healthy  condition  as 
is  shown  by  the  number  of  members  re- 
ported and  the  amount  of  money  raised 
for  all  of  the  objects  of  the  Convention. 
Total  membership  this  year  was  not  given 
in  the  associational  minutes,  nor  was  the 

282 


amount  raised  for  all  objects  given,  but 
every  thing  points  to  a  good  year.  This 
year  the  association  of  the  W.  M.  U.  met 
with  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Kings 
Mountain,  September  first  and  second.  The 
meeting  was  well  attended,  and  much  in- 
terest was  manifested  in  the  work.  The 
town  threw  its  doors  wide  open  to  the  Bap- 
tist women  of  the  county,  and  they  had  a 
great  time  together  for  the  two  days  of 
their  meeting.  The  minutes  of  the  associa- 
tion has  this  to  say  concerning  the  meet- 
ing. 

"The  annual  address  of  the  Superinten- 
dent was  full  of  enthusiasm  and  helpful 
suggestions.  Her  subject,  "The  Outlook  of 
the  Future,  a  Vision  of  Seven  Stars",  will 
long  be  remembered  by  all  who  were  pres- 
ent. The  first  star,  Prayer,  the  second  star, 
Bible  Study,  the  third  star,  Mission  Study, 
the  fourth  star,  Evangelism,  the  fifth  star, 
Enlistment,  the  sixth  star,  Stewardship, 
the  seventh  star,  Christian  Schools.  This 
was  such  a  unique  subject  that  it  gripped 
the  hearts  of  the  ladies  greatly.  The  ladies 
of  this  church  do  their  best  whatever  their 
task  may  be.  They  are  noted  cooks  and 
housekeepers,  and  when  they  get  a  chance 
to  show  what  they  are,  they  do  their  best. 
It  is  their  delight  to  entertain  a  general 
meeting,  but  they  have  never  had  a  chance 

283 


to  entertain  an  association  but  once,  and 
the  ladies  meeting  once. 

Mrs.  George  Lovell  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  W.  M.  U.  August  1922.  Mrs.  J. 
S.  Hood  was  elected  Vice  president  at  the 
same  time,  Mrs.  C.  T.  Cornwell,  Secretary, 
and  Mrs.  R.  C.  Gold,  Treasurer.  The  num- 
ber of  members  was  not  reported  to  the 
association  in  1922,  but  the  amount  of 
money  raised  was.  That  year  they  raised 
$667.85.  This  was  very  fine  for  our  ladies. 

Mrs.  Lovell  continued  president  during 
1923,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott  was  elected  Vice 
president,  Mrs.  J.  K.  Willis,  Secretary,  and 
Mrs.  R.  C.  Gold,  Treasurer.  Mrs.  Glee 
Bridges  became  Secretary  November  1928. 
Mrs.  Willis  had  previously  resigned.  The 
society  reported  fifty  four  members  to  the 
association  in  1923,  $719.50  raised  for  all 
objects,  and  the  work  in  a  good  healthy 
condition.  This  was  the  best  year  they  had 
ever  had.  They  reported  more  members  and 
more  money  raised  than  ever  before  in 
their  history. 

1924  found  Mrs.  George  E.  Lovell  still 
president,  Mrs.  A.  H.  Sims,  Vice  president, 
Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott,  Secretary,  Mrs.  R.  C. 
Gold,  Treasurer.  Mrs.  Lovell  moved  away 
from  Kings  Mountain  before  the  year  was 
out  so  another  president  had  to  be  elected. 
This  election  took  place  in   October  1924, 

284 


and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Mrs.  Ray- 
mond Cline  for  president.  The  other  offi- 
cers remained  the  same  as  they  were  be- 
fore. The  number  of  members  reported  to 
the  association  this  year  is  not  given  in  the 
minutes,  but  the  money  raised  is  given. 
They  raised  for  all  objects  during  the  year 
of  1924,  $729.48.  This  was  another  good 
year  for  the  Kings  Mountain  W.  M.  U. 

Mrs.  Cline  was  continued  president  for 
1925.  All  of  the  other  officers  were  continu- 
ed, and  all  of  the  data  concerning  the  num- 
ber of  members,  the  amount  of  money 
raised  and  all  other  interesting  figures  we 
ought  to  have,  were  left  out  of  the  report 
to  the  annual  association. 

Mrs.  Cline  is  still  president  of  the  W.  M. 
U.  This  is  her  third  year.  She  has  done 
some  noble  work  with  the  ladies,  and  is 
just  getting  ready  to  do  the  best  work  the 
society  has  ever  done.  Mrs.  Cline  is  young 
and  strong  so  that  she  can  get  about,  and 
has  much  enthusiasm  in  the  work  of  her 
society. 

The  following  are  the  leaders  of  the  dif- 
ferent circles  of  the  missionary  society: 
The  Attie  Bostic  Circle,  Mrs.  A.  H.  Sims, 
The  Fannie  Heck,  Mrs.  Forest  Floyd,  The 
Judson  Circle,  Mrs.  D.  G.  Littlejohn,  The 
Ann  Hasseltine  Circle,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Gold. 

All  of  the  circles  are  in  a  good  thriving 
285 


condition,  and  their  outlook  has  never  been 
brighter  than  it  is  at  this  time. 

The  W.  M.  U.  is  always  ready  for  every 
good  work.  It  is  now  taking  the  lead  in 
raising  money  to  build  a  new  baptistery, 
and  other  improvements  we  need  so  much, 
to  keep  the  work  of  the  Master  going. 

The  accompanying  cut  of  the  officers  ex- 
plains itself. 


W.  M.  IT.  OFFICERS 


286 


THE  Y.  W.  A, 

The  Young  Women's  Auxiliary  is  & 
branch  of  the  W.  M.  S.  being  composed  of 
the  young  ladies  of  the  church  who  want 
to  learn  to  serve  and  do  mission  work, 
either  in  giving,  or  learning  how  to  serve 
their  church  in  a  more  efficient  way.  No 
church  is  complete  without  an  organization 
of  this  kind.  Of  course,  not  every  church 
has  a  competent  leader  for  such  work,  but 
it  is  far  from  what  it  ought  to  be  without 
the  organization  and  ought  to  have  it  even 
if  it  has  to  be  run  by  an  outside  leader  from 
another  Baptist  church  in  the  community, 

The  First  Baptist  church  at  Kings  Moun- 
tain has  tried  from  the  beginning  to  .be 
standard  in  every  way,  and  this  is  especial- 
ly true  in  regard  to  the  work  of  the  ladies 
of  the  church.  They  have  always  been  bet- 
ter organized  than  the  men,  and  they  have 
done  more  real  mission  work.  Our  men 
have  left  the  Baptist  program  with  their 
wives,  and  because  of  this,  we  are  far  from 
what  we  ought  to  be. 

The  ladies  organized  a  fine  missionary 
society  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  work 
of  the  church  here,  and  as  soon  as  they 
could  get  a  leader,  they  organized  a  Young 
Women's  Auxiliary.  This  was  done  Sunday 
afternoon,  September  15th,  1912.  Mrs.  M. 
E.  Herndon  took  the  lead  in  the  work  and 

287 


brought  it  to  pass.  The  Y.  W.  A.  was  or- 
ganized with  sixteen  members,  and  Mrs. 
Herndon  was  chosen  the  first  leader.  The 
very  first  meeting  must  have  been  filled 
with  enthusiasm  according  to  the  results  of 
that  meeting  and  the  other  things  they  set 
to  going.  The  names  of  the  sixteen  that  or- 
ganized the  Y.  W.  A.  cannot  be  secured, 
but  they  ought  to  be  handed  down  to  all 
generations  for  the  benefit  it  would  be  to 
their  posterity.  So  many  things  like  this 
have  been  forgotten.  It  ought  not  to  be  so, 
but  it  is  in  many  instances. 

One  of  the  first  things  the  Y.  W.  A.  un- 
dertook to  do  was  to  organize  to  do  per- 
sonal service  work.  This  means  that  they 
undertook  to  help  the  needy  and  those  in 
distress.  Their  minutes  of  February  5th, 
1913,  says  that  they  had  church  mite  boxes 
made  by  their  leader,  and  that  these  boxes 
were  a  miniature  of  the  old  church  house, 
that  is,  a  model  of  the  old  wooden  church 
house.  They  were  made  by  hand  and  one 
was  given  each  member  of  the  Y.  W.  A. 
The  society  was  divided  into  two  groups, 
and  the  group  that  raised  the  most  money 
was  to  be  entertained  by  the  other  group, 
They  chose  gold  and  white  for  their  colors, 
and  goldenrods  and  daisies  for  their  flow- 
ers. The  girls  who  raised  five  dollars  was 
to  receive  a  hand  painted  picture  of  the  old 

289 


church.  This  was  to  be  painted  by  the  lead^ 
er.  Three  girls  raised  the  five  dollars  nec- 
essary to  get  the  picture.  These  were  Miss^ 
es  Ethel  Parker,  Ruth  Baker,  and  Lila 
Woodward.  These  pictures  are  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  girls  who  won  them.  They 
are  exceedingly  nice.  The  money  raised  was 
used  to  buy  one  of  the  large  stained  glass 
window's  in  the  new  church  building.  It  id 
such  a  pity  that  the  windows  were  not 
marked  so  that  all  who  see  them  might 
know  how  they  came  to  be  in  the  church, 
but  none  of  them  are  marked.  Stained 
glass  windows  are  always  marked  except 
those  in  the  First  Baptist  church  here.  The 
girls  raised  their  money  by  organizing  a 
Sewing  club.  All  the  money  they  raised  was 
put  into  their  mite  boxes,  and  as  has  been 
Said  went  to  pay  for  their  window  in  the 
new  church.  This  was  So  noble  in  the  young 
ladies.  They  are  still  doing  things  like  the 
above.  They  never  falter  when  some  thing- 
is  needed  to  be  done. 

The  Y.  W.  A.  is  more  like  the  senioi* 
class  in  college  than  anything  it  can  be  com- 
pared to.  The  girls  stand  together  so  well, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  organization  is  so 
fine.  The  following  will  written  by  their 
first  leader  shows  the  spirit  of  the  young 
women! 

"Kings  Mountain  Baptist  Church. 


Cleveland  County,  N.  C. 
"We,  the  officers  of  the  Y.  W.  A.  of  the 
aforesaid  county  and  state,  do  realize  the 
indifference  of  our  members  to  the  study 
of  missions  and  general  work;  therefore, 
know  ye  that  we,  the  aforesaid  officers,  be- 
ing of  minds  for  the  most  part  sound,  and 
of  reasonably  liberal  disposition,  do  declare 
this  our  last  will  and  testament  as  follows: 

1.  That,  whereas,  we  have  been  under 
the  lawful  watchcare  of  the  W.  M.  S.  we 
hereby  constitute  and  appoint  the  said  so- 
ciety as  our  lawful  executors,  without 
bond,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  to  exe- 
cute our  last  will  and  testament  according 
to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  same, 
and  every  part  and  clause  thereof. 

2.  That  in  token  of  their  interest  in  our 
behalf,  we  do  bequeath  to  the  members  of 
the  beloved  Society  these  several  small  leg- 
acies : 

To  Mrs.  Carpenter  we  will  give  our  last- 
ing gratitude  if  she  will  have  a  law  passed 
forbidding  any  member  from  being  absent 
without  good  excuse. 

To  Mrs.  Floyd,  a  history  containing  an 
outline  of  all  of  the  missionaries. 

To  Mrs.  Baker,  a  book  explaining  how 
it  is  possible  to  get  girls  between  twelve 
and  sixteen  interested  in  mission  work. 

To  Mrs.  Abbott,  all  of  the  musical  com- 
291 


position  of  the  music  students  of  the  Y.  W. 
A. ;  provided,  she  will  get  some  one  to  make 
the  girls  sing  out  of  them. 

To  any  member  of  the  W.  M.  S.  who  will 
with  their  whole  soul  enter  into  the  girl's 
work,  the  leadership  of  the  Y.  W.  A. 

To  members  having  daughters,  we  leave 
all  of  our  responsibility  to  see  that  they  at- 
tend Y.  W.  A.  and  get  them  interested  in 
the  work. 

3.  Having  expressed  our  love  for  M.  S.  C, 
(Mission  Study  Class)  desiring  to  do  the 
most  good  with  our  property,  we  will  the 
following  named  articles;  to  our  friends 
among  the  Y.  W.  A's.  and  the  Sunbeams; 

To  the  Y.  W.  A.'s,  a  collection  of  our 
knowledge,  work,  worry,  etc.,  together 
with  all  unthoughtfulness  and  unthankful- 
ness  on  their  part. 

To  the  R.  A.'s,  our  unending  loyalty  and 
our  ability. 

To  the  dear  little  Sunbeams,  we  leave  all 
of  our  fun  we  have  at  the  socials,  picnics, 
etc. 

To  Ruth  Baumgardner,  we  leave  Stella's 
tireless  energy  and  love  for  writing  minu- 
tes. 

To  Callie  Morris,  Lila's  executive  ability. 
To  Lillian  White,  Ruth  Baker's  ability  to 
keep  books. 
To  Kate  Hord,  Ethel's  loyalty  and  faith- 
292 


fulness. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  our  property, 
we  do  hereby  declare  utterly  void  all  other 
wills  and  testaments  by  us  heretofore 
made. 

In  witness  whereof  the  said  officers  of 
the  Y.  W.  A.  of  the  First  Baptist  church 
of  Kings  Mountain  do  hereunto  set  our 
hands  and  seal,  this  the  13th.  day  of  May, 
1914. 

Officers  of  the  Y.  W.  A. 
Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon,  Leader. 
Signed,  sealed,  and  declared,  by  the  said 
officers  to  be  its  last  will  and  testament  in 
the  presence  of  us,  we  the   witnesses  do 
subscribe  our  names  hereto. 

Fannie  Carpenter. 
Viola  White. 
This  will  shows  the  spirit  of  the  Y.  W.  A. 
and  will  bring  back  many  a  tender  memory 
when  it  is  read  in  the  distant  years  before 
us. 

Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon  was  the  one  who 
conceived  the  idea  of  having  a  Y.  W.  A. 
here,  and  she  served  as  leader  from  the  or- 
ganization in  1912  until  1916.  Mrs.  W.  R, 
Beach  succeeded  Mrs.  Herndon  and  served 
Until  1918,  when  she  had  to  resign  because 
of  the  resignation  of  her  husband  who  was 
pastor  at  that  time. 

Mrs.  George  Lovell  succeeded  Mrs.  Beach 
293 


and  served  during  the  year  of  1920.  Mrs.  J. 
0.  Fulbright  succeeded  Mrs.  Lovell.  She 
took  charge  April  11th,  1921,  and  served 
until  March  1923. 

Mrs.  Walter  N.  Johnson  suceeded  Mrs. 
Fulbright.  She  took  charge  of  the  work, 
May,  1924,  and  served  until  her  husband  re- 
signed to  take  up  other  work.  The  work 
was  left  without  a  leader  for  a  little  while, 
but  in  February,  1925,  the  leadership  was 
again  taken  up  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon, 
This  was  the  second  term  for  Mrs.  Hern- 
don. She  has  done  some  of  the  most  faith- 
ful work  with  the  girls  that  has  been  done 
since  the  organization  of  the  Auxiliary. 
She  has  been  helping  the  girls  in  many 
things  they  have  undertaken  to  do  for  the 
work  of  the  church,  and  the  denomination- 
al work  in  general.  Last  year,  she  and  the 
girls  made  many  nice  things  for  the  Bap- 
tist Hospital  at  Winston,  and  they  have 
done  many  oth'er  things  for  the  denomina- 
tion that  cannot  be  named  here.  Their  ser- 
vice has  been  wonderful  all  through  their 
history. 

During  the  last  part  of  the  year  of  1925, 
the  girls  decided  that  they  would  use  the 
group  plan  for  their  work,  so  on  November 
4th.  they  divided  it  into  groups.  The  girls 
selected  their  own  group  names.  The  first 
group  named  theirs  the  Lula  Herndon  Cir- 

294 


cle.  The  second  group  named  theirs  the 
Mary  Fulbright  Circle.  Mrs.  Herndon  did 
not  think  it  best  to  name  a  circle  for  her, 
but  the  girls  were  determined  that  they 
would,  so  they  settled  on  Lula  Herndon  for 
the  name  of  the  first  Circle  and  sent  Mrs. 
Herndon  the  following  note  of  notification ; 
'11-29-25.  As  a  token  of  our  appreciation 
for  your  noble  work  as  our  Y.  W.  A.  lead- 
er, and  to  express  our  love  for  you  we  have 
named  our  circle  the  "Lula  Herndon"  cir- 
cle." 

Signed, 
Viola  White. 
Janie  Belle  Odam. 
Willie  Mae  Odam. 
The  following  are  the  officers   for  the 
year  of  1926; 

Leader,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon. 
President,  Miss  Janie  Belle  Odam. 
Vice  President,  Miss  Mitchel  Williams, 
Secreary,  Miss  Willie  Mae  Odam. 
Treasurer,  Miss  Sudie  White 
Pianist,  Miss  Willarree  Tate. 
Chairman  of  the  Personal  Service  Commit- 
tee, Miss  Lucile  Dixon. 
The  following  is  the  report  of  the  work 
done  during  the  months  of  January,  Feb- 
ruary, and  March,  1926; 

1926  Program  for  Missions  $45.26  ... 

Personal  Service  Report. 

295 


Held  one  service  at  County  Home  ....  1 

Visits  to  the  sick  213 

Trays  given  to  poor  and  sick    23 

Flowers  given    7 

Hours  of  nursing  sick  48 

Bibles  given  3 

Religious  visits  made   18 

Talks  with  the  unconverted  7 

Garments  given  to  the  poor  8 


Gifts  to  the  Baptist  Orphanage  valued 
at  $6.25. 

Money  sent  to  South  Mountain  Insti- 
tute $12.80. 

The  Y.  W.  A.  is  now  in  the  midst  of  its 
life.  It  has  never  been  in  better  condition, 
and  if  the  present  spirit  of  work  and  ser- 
vice continues,  it  is  going  to  be  one  of  the 
mightiest  forces  for  good  in  this  town.  It 
is  now  the  most  enthusiastic  Y.  W.  A.  in 
the  Kings  Mountain  association. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  so  much  that  we 
cannot  get  our  young  men  interested  as 
much  in  the  mission  work  as  we  can  the 
young  ladies.  This  is  the  weakest  point  in 
all  of  our  Baptist  program.  This  is  a  lame 
place  that  must  be  repaired,  or  something 
desperate  is  going  to  take  place.  The  B.  Y. 
P.  U.  is  supposed  to  supply  this  need,  but 
we  do  not  have  enough  of  our  young  men 
enlisted  in  that  work.  Something  must  be 
done. 

296 


THE  SUNBEAMS,   WHERE  ORGANIZ- 
ED, THEIR  LEADERS. 


The  Sunbeam  Band  was  organized  at 
Kings  Mountain  some  time  during  the  year 
of  1904.  The  exact  date  is  not  known,  but  it 
must  have  been  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  as  no  mention  is  made  of  the  or- 
ganization in  the  associationai  minutes  for 
that  year.  In  fact  no  mention  is  made  of 
the  Sunbeams  here  until  1906,  then  only  a 
mere  mention  is  made  of  it. 

Miss  Lula  Carpenter,  who  is  now  Mrs. 
Elmer  Herndon,  and  Miss  Jessie  Baum- 
gardner,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Herbert  Erwin, 
organized  the  little  band  and  were  the  first 
leaders.  They  were  very  enthusiastic  young 
ladies,  and  put  their  soul  into  the  work. 
This  made  it  very  interesting  to  the  child- 
ren, and  from  that  day  until  this,  the  Sun- 
beams have  been  loyal  to  the  work  of  the 
Kingdom. 

Miss  Carpenter  served  until  January 
1907,  when  she  went  to  Charlotte  to  become 
a  student  in  Elizabeth  College.  This  left 
the  Band  with  but  one  leader,  so  Miss 
Emma  Cornwell  was  elected  to  fill  the 
place  made  vacant  by  Miss  Carpenter's  go- 
ing  to  college.  Miss  Cornwell  is  now  Mrs. 
Emma  Austelle.  She  served  until  Septem- 
ber 1909,  when  she  went  to  Limestone  Col- 

297 


lege.  This  left  the  little  band  without  a 
leader  once  more,  so  they  elected  Mrs. 
Forest  Floyd  to  fill  the  place  made  vacant 
by  Miss  Cornwell's  going  to  college.  Mrs. 
Floyd  entered  jnto  the  work  with  all  of  her 
soul,  as  she  does  everything  she  under- 
takes. She  served  from  1909  until  the  fall 
of  1915  when  she  gave  way  for  a  little 
while  and  Mrs.  J.  R.  Miller  and  Mrs.  D.  F. 
Hord  took  charge  to  keep  the  work  going. 
Mrs.  Floyd  took  charge  again  during  the 
early  part  of  1916  and  served  until  Sep- 
tember 1925.  During  this  time,  Mrs.  Floyd 
taught  nearly  every  junior  boy  and  girl  in 
the  church.  Nearly  all  of  the  young  people 
in  the  church  today  were  once  Sunbeams 
and  love  Mrs.  Floyd  because  they  were. 
She  is  gifted  in  getting  up  all  kinds  of  pro- 
grams suitable  for  children,  and  too,  she  is 
quite  an  artist  when  it  comes  to  designing 
little  things  for  the  children.  She  has  spent 
more  time  in  making  charts  and  things  of 
that  kind  to  keep  the  children  interested 
than  any  one  else  in  this  town.  She  has 
trained  more  children  for  the  work  than 
any  other  lady  we  have  in  our  church. 
She  does  not  have  charge  of  the  Sunbeams 
now,  but  she  still  loves  the  children  and  at- 
tends their  meetings  all  that  she  can.  Mrs. 
Doris  Littlejohn  has  the  work  at  present, 
and  is  doing  nicely  with  it.  She  has  a  large 

298 


band  of  the  little  folks,  and  will  have  many 
more  when  the  weather  conditions  become 
such  that  the  little  folks  can  get  out.  They 
meet  two  Sunday  afternoons  in  each  month 
but  when  the  weather  is  bad  they  cannot 
attend.  This  makes  the  work  a  little  diffi- 
cult for  the  leader,  but  it  is  hoped  that  all 
of  this  may  be  removed  when  the  weather 
gets  warm  in  the  spring  and  summer  of 
this  year,  1926. 

The  Sunbeams  have  been  great  givers  ac- 
cording to  what  they  have  had  to  give.  Be- 
low, we  are  giving  the  amounts  they  have 
paid  to  the  different  objects  during  the 
years  of  their  existence: 

1909,  they  gave  fifty  dollars  and  ninety 
four  cents  and  had  thirty  five  enrolled. 

1910,  they  gave  thirty  five  dollars  and 
had  forty  enrolled. 

1911,  they  gave  fifty  two  dollars  and  six- 
ty one  cents,  but  the  number  enrolled  is 
not  given. 

1919,  they  gave  forty  three  dollars  and 
sixteen  cents. 

1913,  they  gave  twenty  seven  dollars  and 
forty  nine  cents. 

1914,  they  gave  twenty  six  dollars  and 
thirteen  cents. 

1915,  they  gave  twenty  eight  dollars  and 
thirty  five  cents. 

1916,  they  gave  eleven  dollars  and  fifty 

299 


five  cents  and  had  fifty  six  enrolled. 

1917,  they  gave  twenty  four  dollars  and 
seventy  five  cents,  and  had  sixty  enrolled. 

1919,  they  gave  sixty  six  dollars  and 
twenty  cents  and  had  sixty  enrolled. 

1920,  they  gave  one  hundred  dollars  and 
had  thirty  one  enrolled. 

1921,  they  gave  ninety  two  dollars  and 
sixty  six  cents. 

1922,  they  gave  seventy  eight  dollars  and 
ninety  five  cents  and  had  forty  one  en- 
rolled. 

1923,  they  gave  thirty  one  dollars  and 
thirty  one  cents. 

1924,  they  gave  thirty  three  dollars  and 
forty  cents. 

1925,  they  gave  thirty  two  dollars  and 
twenty  eight  cents  and  had  twenty  five 
enrolled. 

The  greatest  number  enrolled  in  any  one 
year  was  ninety  two.  That  was  the  year 
the  corner  stone  of  the  new  church  build- 
ing was  laid.  They  had  as  much  enthusi- 
asm then  as  they  have  ever  had. 

They  paid  for  one  of  the  art  glass  win- 
dows in  the  church.  The  window  is  very 
easily  located.  It  has  the  rising  sun  in  it. 
and  is  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  build- 
ing. 

They  have  put  on  programs  at  the  annu- 
al W.  M.  W.  associations,  and  have  given 

300 


some  very  interesting  programs  for  the 
monthly  meetings  of  the  missionary  socie- 
ty at  home. 

The  following  cut  shows  who  they  are 
and  what  they  are.  The  only  regret  that 
we  have  here  is  that  we  do  not  have  the 
cooperation  of  the  parents  in  this  great 
work.  Many  of  the  parents  do  not  realize 
what  our  Sunbeam  leaders  are  trying  to  do 
for  our  children. 


 ____  _  . 


SUNBEAMS 

i 

As  the  years  come  and  go,  can  we  not 
301 


pray  for  them  and  encourage  them  more 
than  we  have  in  the  past? 

Ah!  what  would  the  world  he  to  us, 

If  the  childre|m  were  no  more?  j 

We  should  dread  the  desert  behind  us 
Worse  than  tihe  dark  before. 

i 

Come  to  me,  oh,  ye  children, 

And  whisper  in  my  ear, 
Wihat  the  birds  and  the  wind  are  singing 

In  your  sun|ny  a  tmic  sphere. 

Ye  are  better  tihain  all  the  ballads 

That  ever  were  sung  or  said, 
For  ye  are  living  poems 

And  all  the  rest  are  dead.  \  \   '  , 


802 


THE  GIRLS'  AUXILIARY 


When  Organized,  By  Whom,  First  Leader, 
Number  of  Charter  Members,  the  Present 
Number,  The  Circles,    What    the  Work 
Means  to  the  Church. 


The  Girls'  Auxiliary  is  an  organization 
fostered  by  the  Women's  Missionary  So- 
ciety to  train  girls  between  the  ages  of 
twelve  and  sixteen  in  missionary  work. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  organ- 
izations we  have  in  the  Baptist  program. 
It  gets  the  young  girls  interested  in  the 
Lord's  work  at  the  age  when  they  are  de- 
ciding life's  calling,  and  when  the  Girls' 
Auxiliary  is  conducted  as  it  should  be,  oft- 
enables  many  of  them  to  decide  to  an- 
swer the  Master's  call  to  go  as  missionar- 
ies, or  to  become  pastor's  assistants. 

The  G.  A.'s  were  not  organized  at  Kings 
Mountain  until  May  17th,  1925.  Mrs.  Floyd 
became  interested  in  the  work  and  spoke 
to  the  pastor  about  it  several  times  during 
the  spring. 

He  encouraged  her  all  that  he  could,  but 
held  back  some  because  she  was  the  leader 
of  the  Sunbeams,  and  it  was  very  evident 
that  she  would  have  to  take  charge  of  the 
new  organization.  But  as  soon  as  we 
found  that  we  had  another  who  could  man- 

303 


304 


age  the  Sunbeams  skillfully,  the  project 
was  launched,  so  on  May  17th,  1925,  the 
G.  A.'s  were  organized  with  six  girls  pres- 
ent. They  were  Anabel  Black,  Sue  Hord, 
Sarah  Hambright,  Ahna  McKnight,  Julia 
White,  and  Helen  Logan.  Since  then  sever- 
al more  have  joined  so  that  today,  they 
have  about  twenty  girls  enlisted  in  this 
work.  They  elected  Anabel  Black  for  their 
first  president,  and  Sue  Hord,  secretary. 
They  have  the  work  divided  into  two  cir- 
cles. One  of  them  is  called  The  Busy  Bees, 
and  the  other  The  Willing  Workers.  The 
girls  are  very  enthusiastic  over  their  work, 
Last  year  when  we  went  on  our  annual  ex- 
cursion to  Thomasville  Baptist  Orphanage, 
these  girls  took  thirty  one  little  dresses 
they  had  made  themselves  and  gave  them 
to  the  children  in  one  of  the  homes  at  that 
place. 

The  first  year  of  their  history  has  not 
passed  yet,  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  they 
are  going  to  be  a  standard  organization 
from  the  very  beginning.  Mrs.  Floyd  loves 
the  girls,  and  is  doing  all  that  she  can  for 
them.  We  have  many  more  girls  who  ought 
to  be  enlisted  in  this  work. 


305 


THE  ROYAL  AMBASSADORS 


Organization  of  The  Royal  Ambassadors, 
Their  First  Leader,  Number  of  Their  Char- 
ter Members,  Name  Becomes  The  Forest 
Floyd  Chapter  of  Royal  Ambassadors,  The 
Present  Leader,  And  The  Work  They  Are 
Doing. 


The  Royal  Ambassadors  of  the  First 
Baptist  church  of  Kings  Mountain  were  or- 
ganized October  21st,  1916.  The  names  of 
twenty  eight  charter  members  were  en- 
rolled, and  the  following  officers  elected: 

Ambassador  in  Chief,  Ben  Beach. 

First  Assistant  Ambassador,  Ernest 
White. 

Chapter  Secretary,  Marvin  Ledford. 

Chapter  Treasurer,  Jake  Dixon. 

Chapter  Collector,  John  Stowe. 

Chapter  Librarian,  Hunter  Caldwell. 

Chief  Counsellor,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Herndon. 

This  was  a  fine  outfit  for  the  beginning. 
Out  of  this  number  has  come  some  of  the 
very  best  boys  the  nation  affords.  Ben 
Beach  is  now  a  regularly  ordained  Bap- 
tist preacher,  and  one  who  is  making  his 
mark  in  the  work  of  the  Kingdom.  Mar- 
vin Ledford  is  making  good  as  a  banker  at 
Gastonia.  All  of  the  others  are  doing  well, 
and  it  is  very  evident  that  the  R.  A.'s  had 

306 


much  to  do  with  their  being  real  men. 

Marvin  Ledford  made  the  following  re- 
port of  the  work  some  time  after  it  was 
organized:  "There  is  not  but  three  of  the 
officers  serving  now*  The  chief  councilor, 
Mrs.  Herndon,  chapter  secretary,  and 
chapter  collector.  The  other  officers  drop- 
ped out.  These  were  ambassador  in  chief, 
Ben  Beach,  who  has  gone  away  to  school, 
first  assistant  ambassador,  Ernest  White, 
who  dropped  out  and  is  now  married. 
Chapter  Treasurer,  Jake  Dixon,  who  is 
also  married,  Chapter  Librarian,  Hunter 
Caldwell.  Dewey  Weir  was  elected  in  Hun- 
ter's place,  but  he,  too,  has  dropped  out. 
We  then  appointed  the  chapter  secretary 
to  serve  as  treasurer  until  the  next  elect- 
ion of  officers  November  4th.,  1917. 

"The  Order  of  Royal  Ambassador  was 
adopted  and  we  decided  that  we  would  hold 
two  meetings  every  month  when  there  is 
not  any  church  service. 

"At  first  we  adopted  the  rule  of  having 
£ach  member  to  pay  a  due  of  ten  cents  a 
month,  but  now  we  have  done  away  with 
'that  rule  and  take  collections.  We  have  had 
twenty  three  meetings  in  our  first  year  of 
our  work,  one  picnic,  one  camp  fire,  and 
one  fishing  trip. 

"We  have  had  five  new  members  added 
to  our  roll  during  the  year,  but  fifteen  of 

307 


the  original  members  dropped  out.  We 
have  had  an  average  attendance  of  nine 
boys  each  meeting. 

"We  are  planning  for  a  larger  band  of 
boys  next  year.  We  are  planning  for  a  bet- 
ter program  next  year.  We  are  planning 
to  have  one  missionary  study  course  each 
month,  and  that  we  will  study  to  make  a 
better  record  next  year.  We  are  going  to 
have  a  celebration  our  birthday,  October, 
29th.,  1917." 

Marvin,  Ledford,  Secretary, 
This  report  is  given  almost  verbatim.  It 
shows  what  the  boys  were  doing  ten  years 
ago. 

The  Royal  Ambassadors  are  doing  ex- 
ceedingly well  now,  but  for  sometime  dur- 
ing the  early  part  of  the  twenties,  the1 
chapter  went  down.  The  leaders  went 
away,  or  grew  to  be  so  large  that  they 
were  too  big  to  take  part  in  such  an  organ- 
ization, and  so  the  chapter  dropped  down 
so  that  there  was  not  any  organization 
at  all,  but  on  August  9th.,  1923,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Archie  Saunders  reorganized  the 
chapter  and  named  it  The  Forest  Floyd 
Chapter  of  Royal  Ambassadors.  It  still 
bears  this  name.  It  is  doing  the  best  work 
at  all. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  years  1925f 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Saunders  moved   to  Char- 

308 


lotte,  and  thus  left  the  Chapter  without  a 
leader.  This  caused  a  little  confusion,  but 
it  was  not  long  until  the  W.  M.  U.  found 
one,  Mrs.  Charlie  Stowe,  who  has  charge 
of  the  organization  at  this  time.  The  first 
of  the  year  of  1926,  she  decided  that  the 
work  was  too  much  for  her,  and  so  re- 
signed, but  the  ladies  did  all  they  could  to 
keep  her  in  the  work  as  she  was  a  mother 
and  knew  so  much  about  boys.  Mrs.  Floyd 
volunteered  to  help  her  in  the  work,  and 
the  pastor  decided  that  he  would  help  all 
that  he  could.  So  all  together  have  made  it 
go  thus  far  in  the  year.  The  Chapter  now 
has  about  thirty  members,  and  the  boys 
seem  to  be  very  much  interested.  The  lead- 
ers have  taken  the  boys  on  one  picnic  to 
Linwood,  and  other  trips  are  being  plan- 
ned. The  work  is  very  encouraging,  and  it 
is  hoped  that  the  brightest  day  is  just  be- 
fore us.  This  is  one  of  the  best  organiza- 
tions we  have  in  out  church,  but  it,  like 
nearly  all  of  the  other  organizations  needs 
our  sympathy  and  our  prayers.  Such 
things  will  not  run  by  themselves.  The  par- 
ents must  encourage  thier  boys  to  attend 
and  take  the  interest  in  the  work  that  it 
takes  to  make  it  worth  while  to  the  boys.  It 
is  more  than  a  social  meeting,  and  when  it 
is  run  as  it  should  be,  it  means  so  much  to 
the  boys.   Boys  want  organizations  now, 

309 


and  if  they  do  not  get  religious  ones,  they 
will  take  to  almost  anything  and  as  you 
know  we  have  some  that  are  very  detri- 
mental to  their  spiritual  development.  The 
boy  cannot  have  too  many  props  placed 
around  him  during  the  adolescent  age* 
The  Royal  Ambassadors  do  for  him  what 
nothing  else  can,  or  will  do.  For  the  coming- 
ages,  let  us,  as  a  church  do  our  part  for 
our  boys,  and  keep  them  encouraged  to  at- 
tend and  keep  the  Forest  Floyd  Chapter 
of  Royal  Ambassadors  in  working  order. 
When  one  bunch  becomes  too  large  for  the 
organization,  let  us  gather  up  others  to 
take  their  places.  We  have  plenty  of  boys 
of  all  ages  and  sizes,  and  we  can  supply 
every  organization  we  have  for  all  ages  to 
come. 


311 


CHAPTER  XL 


B.  Y.P.  U. 

When  Organized,  Different  Organizations, 
The  Present  Organization,  The  Manner  of 
the  Early  B.  Y.  P.  IL,  The  Literature 
Used,  Who  Belonged  To  It,  The  Juniors, 
The  Intermediates  Organized,  Their  Lead- 
ers, and  the  Work  As  It  Is  Today,  The  City 
B.  Y.  P.  U.  Organized. 


The  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  is  one 
of  the  best  organizations  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination has  ever  added  to  its  program. 
For  years  we  had  nothing  to  utilize  the 
energy  of  our  young  people,  or  to  develop 
them  into  useful  members.  Twenty  five 
years  ago  there  were  not  many  Baptist 
young  people  enlisted  in  any  kind  of  work, 
You  seldom  saw  a  young  man,  or  a  young 
lady  teaching  a  class  in  Sunday  School,  or 
taking  a  leading  part  in  any  way,  but 
now,  since  we  have  had  the  B.  Y.  P.  U. 
work  going  on  for  a  few  years,  you  can 
find  young  men  and  young  women  doing 
all  kinds  of  church  work.  They  are  learn- 
ing how  to  work  for  their  Master.  Nearly 
every  church  of  any  importance  in  town  or 
country,  today,  has  a  good  wide  awake  B. 
Y.  P.  U.  No  church  can  be  without  one  or 

312 


more  of  them. 

The  First  Baptist  church  of  Kings  Moun- 
tain conceived  the  idea  of  having  a  B.  Y. 
P.  U.  early  in  the  twentieth  century,  pos- 
sibly as  early  as  1904.  They  had  a  good  one 
in  1905  with  thirty  six  members.  Will  D. 
McDaniel  was  the  president  of  it.  The  re- 
cords do  not  state  how  long  it  had  been 
organized,  nor  how  long  W.  D.  McDaniel 
served  at  president,  but  he  must  have  serv- 
ed for  two,  or  possibly  three  years.  The 
minutes  of  the  association  give  his  name 
as  president  for  more  than  one  year.  This 
first  organization  died  before  1908.  B.  Y. 
P.  U.'s  were  hard  to  keep  alive  when  they 
were  first  organized.  Many  a  good  organi- 
zation died  soon  after  it  was  begun.  This 
was  caused  by  the  officers  missing  the 
meeting  of  the  Unions,  or  because  no  one 
knew  how  to  lead.  It  will  not  do  for  the  of- 
ficers to  miss  now.  It  will  kill  almost  any 
of  the  Unions  we  have  although  they  are 
stronger  than  they  once  were. 

When  it  was  reorganized  November 
1908,  Fred  McMillan  was  elected  president, 
Victor  Hambright,  vice  president,  Miss 
Margaret  Kendrick,  secretary,  Daisy  Car- 
penter, treasurer,  and  Attie  Weir,  pianist. 
Prof.  J.  S.  Huneycutt,  Forest  Floyd,  and 
Clara  Carpenter,  the  program  committee. 
The  record  does  not  state  how  many  mem- 

313 


bers  were  enrolled,  but  there  must  have 
been  quite  a  number  of  them.  The  following 
list  is  given  in  the  old  book,  and  this  must 
have  been  those  who  were  in  the  organi- 
zation; N.  F.  McMillan,  C.  S.  Elam,  F. 
Floyd,  M.  E.  Herndon,  P.  D.  Herndon,  V. 
0.  Hambright,  S.  S.  Weir,  C.  H.  Broward, 
Miss  Margaret  Kendrick,  Mrs.  Mary  Lip- 
ford,  J.  E.  Lipford,  Clara  Carpenter,  Mrs. 
Callie  Carpenter,  Daisy  Carpenter,  Cora 
Baumgardner,  Emma  Cornwall,  Rossie 
Kendrick,  Delia  Hord,  Ethel  Hord,  Jennie 
Hord,  Ethel  Lindsay,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Abbott, 
Mrs.  Cora  Floyd,  Attie  Weir,  Mabel  Weir, 
Ethel  Abbott,  S.  J.  Huneycutt,  Josie  Baum- 
gardner, A.  B.  Putnam,  Frank  Weir,  Mrs. 
R,  C.  Baker,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Stroup,  C.  L.  Con- 
rad, W.  D.  McDaniel,  D.  F.  Hord,  Mrs.  D. 
F,  Hord,  Mrs.  E.  L.  Ware,  Mae  Patterson. 
There  is  still  another  old  roll  with  many 
more  names  on  it,  but  as  this  seems  to  be 
the  oldest  one,  it  is  the  only  one  I  will  give 
in  this  sketch.  These  names  are  familiar  to 
all  of  the  old  members  of  the  church,  and 
I  am  sure  that  many  memories  of  those 
days  will  come  back  to  them  as  they  read 
this  list  of  names  that  was  called  so  many 
times  while  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  work  was  in  its 
beginning.  Many  of  those  whose  names 
have  been  given  here  have  gone  to  their 
long  home,  and  will  never  answer  to  ano- 

314 


SENIOR  B.  Y.  P.  V.  OFFICERS 


815 


ther  B.  Y.  P.  U.  roll  call. 

The  B.  Y.  P.  U.  that  was  organized  at 
this  time  had  its  meeting  at  different 
times  of  the  week.  At  first,  it  met  at  three 
thirty  o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoons,  and 
some  of  the  time  it  met  on  Wednesday 
evenings.  The  church  did  not  have  a  resi- 
dent pastor,  and  there  was  no  regular 
prayer  meeting,  so  the  young  people  used 
the  prayer  meeting  hour  for  their  work. 

Some  of  those  early  programs  were  very 
interesting.  They  discussed  some  very 
practical  questions.  At  the  second  meeting, 
the  record  says  that  Prof.  Huneycutt  and 
Miss  Clara  Carpenter  read  papers  on  the 
"Duties  and  Opportunities  of  Young  Peo- 
ple." At  the  January  meeting,  the  president 
discussed  the  twenty  third  Psalm,  and  then 
they  had  a  very  interesting  paper  read  by 
Miss  Cora  Baumgardner  on  "Growing  Old, 
a  Habit."  This  was  followed  by  a  paper  on 
'A  Remedy  for  the  Downcast."  In  those 
days  their  meetings  were  full  of  "pep." 
They  made  them  practical,  and  put  their 
souls  into  the  work. 

Let  us  notice  the  minute  of  the  meeting 
of  January  17th.,  1909.  The  minute  reads 
thus;  "B.  Y.  P.  U.  opened  January  17th  by 
singing  "Throw  out  the  life  line."  The  so- 
ciety was  then  lead  in  a  very  earnest  pray- 
er by  Mr.  Beach,    followed    by  singing 

316 


'Ring  the  Bells  of  Heaven.' 

The  scripture  lesson  was  next  read  by 
the  president  (Fred  McMillan),  after 
which  Miss  Emma  Cornwell  read  a  very  in- 
teresting paper  The  First  Dry  Victory  in 
Our  Country',  also  a  paper  by  Miss  Daisy 
Carpenter  on  'The  Saloon  Keeper  Hastens 
His  Own  Ruin.'  Mr.  Floyd  sung  'Have 
Courage  My  Boy,  to  say  No.'  Then  Miss 
Delia  Hord  read  a  paper  on  'Commerce 
Does  Not  Follow  the  Jug.'  Mr.  Broward 
made  a  talk  on  'Employers  Insist  That  Men 
Quit  Drinking.'  Then  a  quartette  was  sung 
by  Misses  Daisy  and  Clara  Carpenter  and 
Elmer  Herndon  and  C.  S.  Elam.7' 

This  must  have  been  an  interesting 
meeting.  The  subjects  show  what  they  were 
thinking  about  at  that  time.  Many  of  our 
young  people  do  not  known  anything  about 
the  terrible  fight  we  had  with  the  booze 
questions,  but  this  program  shows  that 
everything  was  lined  up  against  it  at  that 
time. 

They  had  much  music  in  their  meetings 
during  the  first  years  of  the  organization 
of  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  They  had  a  good  male 
quartette,  and  occasionally  they  had  a  violin 
solo.  This  added  so  much  to  their  meetings, 
and  made  their  programs  so  much  more  in- 
teresting. Music  has  such  a  wonderful 
place  in  the  worship  of  God.  It  always  adds 

317 


to  a  service  when  it  is  rendered  as  it 
should  be.  Our  B.  Y.  P.  LPs.  would  be  so 
much  better  now  if  we  had  more  music  in 
them. 

The  second  organization  lasted  until  the 
year  of  1911,  or  possibly  1912.  It  died  just 
about  the  time  the  old  house  was  torn 
down.  It  may  have  died  just  a  little  before 
that  time  but  the  exact  time  of  its  death 
cannot  be  ascertained.  Several  things  con- 
tributed to  its  death.  The  trouble  over  the 
Earaca  and  Philathea  classes  was  one 
cause,  and  choir  troubles  were  another. 
There  may  have  been  many  more  things 
that  came  in  the  way  of  this  work  and 
caused  its  death,  but  those  mentioned  above 
were  the  leading  ones.  It  practically  died 
during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  G.  Graham, 
No  mention  is  made  of  it  in  the  early  part 
of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  J.  R.  Miller.  It  re- 
mained silent  for  many  months,  but  it 
could  not  stay  silent  forever.  Brother  D.  F. 
Hord  and  possibly  others  attended  a  meet- 
ing in  Charlotte  early  in  the  spring  of 
1919,  and  caught  a  vision  of  the  work  and 
came  back  home  and  organized  the  B.  Y. 
P.  U.  work  anew.  He  and  his  wife  took 
charge  of  it  until  Prof.  Nye  came  here  a 
little  later,  then  he  took  charge  of  the  sen- 
ior work  and  Brother  Hord  and  his  wife 
took  charge  of  the  Junior  work. 

818 


This  new  organization  is  still  living.  It 
has  been  very  weak  some  of  the  time  but 
at  present  it  is  vigorous.  It  now  has  more 
than  thirty  members,  and  the  work  it  is 
doing  is  very  satisfactory  indeed.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  members  are  working  hard 
and  are  trying  to  make  the  programs  in-5 
teresting  to  all.  The  Bible  reading  is  on  the 
increase,  and  those  who  take  part  on  the 
program  are  studying  more  than  they  once 
did.  They  are  trying  to  do  their  part  with- 
out using-  their  quarterlies.  The  present 
outlook  is  very  encouraging. 

The  Junior  B.  Y.  P.  U.  was  organized 
Some  time  before  the  Intermediates.  Broth- 
er D.  F,  Hord  and  his  wife  had  charge  of 
this  department  of  the  work  until  a  few 
years  ago.  The  work  grew  constantly  while 
they  had  charge  of  it,  and  they  still  look 
back  upon  their  work  with  the  children  in 
the  Junior  B.  Y.  P.  U.  as  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  experiences  of  their  lives. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hord  gave  up  the 
work,  Mrs.  J.  S,  Norman  took  charge  of  it. 
She  did  not  keep  it  very  long  until  she  had 
to  give  it  up  because  of  other  duties.  Miss 
Lorene  Corhwell  then  took  charge  of  it  and 
kept  it  until  she  had  to  give  it  up  to  go  to 
college  in  the  fall  of  1925.  Miss  Elizabeth 
Elam  then  took  charge  of  it  and  has  had  it 
until  this  time.  Both  of  these  young  wo- 

319 


JUNIOR  B.  Y.  P.  V. 


men  have  done  good  work  with  the  child- 
ren. Miss  Cornwell  is  a  natural  leader  of 
children.  She  can  adapt  herself  to  almost 
any  condition,  and  her  talent  for  music 
makes  her  one  of  the  best  suited  young 
ladies  for  work  among  children  to  be  found 
anywhere.  She  can  take  charge  of  almost 
any  kind  of  meeting  and  handle  it  as  skill- 
fully as  a  lawyer.  She  can  go  out  with  a 
bunch  of  athletes  and  lead  them  in  all  of 
their  yells,  and  do  it  as  gracefully  as  ever 
you  have  seen.  She  is  one  of  the  most  tal- 
ented young  ladies  the  writer  has  ever 
known.  All  she  needs  is  a  good  college: 
course  to  help  her  to  know  many  things 
she  otherwise  cannot  know.  She  has  nat- 
ural ability  to  do  great  things  for  God. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Elam  is  but  a  child,  but 
has  many  noble  characteristics.  She  took 
charge  of  the  Junior  B.  Y.  P.  U.  work  last 
year,  1925,  and  she  has  worked  hard  with 
the  children  until  now.  She  knows  a  great 
deal  about  children  and  loves  them  tender- 
ly. She  is  destined  to  make  a  great  worker 
for  the  Dord.  She  has  much  ability,  and 
when  she  becomes  a  woman,  she  is  going 
to  have  a  place  in  the  front  ranks  of  the 
army  of  the  Lord.  Miss  Corrie  Huffstetler 
is  her  assistant  at  present.  She  is  one  &£ 
our  most  consecrated  young  women. 

The  Intermediates  were  organized  the 
821 


year  of  Rev.  J.  0.  Fulbright's  pastorate. 
Miss  Sarah  Roberts  seems  to  have  been 
their  first  leader.  Brother  D.  F.  Hord  was 
with  her  in  the  meetings  to  help  her  keep 
order  and  arrange  the  programs.  She  did 
not  serve  very  long  until  she  had  to  go 
away  to  school*  Miss  Viola  White  took 
charge  of  the  work  the  latter  part  of  the 
summer  of  1923.  She  took  charge  either  the 
last  of  August,  or  the  first  of  September. 
She  has  kept  the  work  until  now.  It  is 
needless  to  say  that  she  has  done  well.  This 
is  too  evident  for  any  one  to  question  in 
the  least.  The  children  all  love  her  and  try 
to  do  what  she  says.  She  has  always  had  a 
room  full  of  them.  She  now  has  about 
thirty  five,  and  will  have  more  when  spring 
opens  up  in  full.  She  is  one  of  the  most 
consecrated  young  women  we  have  in  our 
church.  She  really  loves  the  Lord,  and  does 
all  that  she  can  to  help  the  work  in  every 
way  she  can.  She  is  a  neice  of  Rev.  A.  M. 
Ross  who  did  such  a  noble  work  here  as 
pastor  in  1900.  She  never  misses  her  meet- 
ings, and  always  has  something  good  to 
say  to  the  boys  and  girls. 

Senior  C.  is  the  second  B.  P.  P.  U.  to 
be  organized  in  the  First  Baptist  church.  It 
has  not  been  organized  very  long.  It  was 
organized  the  first  of  the  year  of  1926,  with 
fourteen  members.  It  now  has  twenty  four. 

323 


SENIOR  C,  B.  V".  P.  U, 


324 


Anabel  Black  is  the  president  of  this 
Union,  Elmer  Logan,  secretary,  Paul  Mc- 
Knight,  corresponding  secretary,  J.  L. 
Loden,  Quizz  Leader,  and  Julia  White  and 
Nina  Cole  group  Captains,  This  B.  Y.  P.  U. 
is  just  beginning  to  work.  Its  members 
were  promoted  from  the  Intermediates, 
and  they  have  not  learned  just  what  they 
are  expected  to  do,  but  it  will  not  be  long 
until  it  is  going  to  be  one  of  the  very  best 
in  the  church.  Senior  B.  was  organized 
during  the  summer  of  1926.  It  is  starting 
off  well  It  has  twenty  four  members  and 
William  G.  Parker  is  president 

The  church  now  has  two  Senior  Unions, 
one  Intermediate,  and  one  Junior  B.  Y.  P. 
U.  It  ought  to  have  another  Senior,  and 
another  Intermediate,  and  one  more  Junior 
B.  Y.  P.  U.  It  cannot  do  the  work  it  ought 
to  do  with  the  Unions  it  has.  There  are  too 
many  young  people  to  be  handled  in  the 
present  organization.  Plans  are  on  foot  to 
organize  another  Senior  Union  out  of 
young  men.  These  young  men  are  to  be  en- 
listed from  the  Berean  Class. 

During  the  autumn  of  1925,  it  became 
evident  that  the  church  would  have  to  ap- 
point a  church  B.  Y.  P.  U.  Director,  so 
the  deacons  decided  on  Brother  D.  F.  Hord, 
and  he  took  charge  at  once.  He  has  the 
oversight  of  all  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  work  of  the 

325 


church.  He  has  so  many  other  things  to  do, 
it  is  hard  for  him  to  give  the  work  the 
time  he  should,  but  he  does  exceedingly 
well  considering  the  time  has  to  give  to  this 
phase  of  the  church's  program.  J.  B.  Keen- 
er has  been  elected  associate  director  of 
the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  He  is  a  bundle  of  enthusi- 
asm and  knows  how  to  work. 

Last  year,  it  became  necessary  to  organ- 
ize a  City  B.  Y.  P.  U.,  so  the  officers  from 
the  other  B.  Y.  P.  U's.  in  the  city  were 
called  together  at  the  First  Baptist  church 
to  arrange  a  program  for  the  organization 
of  a  city  wide  Union.  This  Union  was  put 
cn  foot  September  30th.,  1925,  and  it  has 
been  an  active  organization  since  its  be- 
ginning. The  children  go  in  droves,  and  are 
full  of  life  when  they  get  together.  Ban- 
ners are  given  for  the  Unions  making  the 
best  average  daily  Bible  reading,  weekly 
attendance,  and  attendance  at  the  City 
Union.  This  causes  the  people  to  work  hard 
for  their  averages. 

The  B.  Y.  P.  U.  work  is  in  its  infancy  in 
this  town,  but  with  the  work  we  are  hav- 
ing done  now,  it  will  not  be  long  until  we 
are  going  to  have  some  of  the  very  best  in 
the  state.  Many  of  those  who  attend  now 
have  diplomas,  and  others  are  getting 
ready  to  take  the  Normal  B.  Y.  P.  U.  man- 
ual. This  will  make  it  one  hundred  per  cent. 

326 


Nearly  all  of  the  first  members  of  the 
E.  Y.  P.  U.  have  either  married  or  moved 
to  other  towns.  Will  D.  McDaniel,  the  first 
president  of  the  B.  Y.  P.  U.  is  a  clerk  in 
Plonk  Bros.  Department  Store,  Fred  Mc- 
Millan, who  was  the  president  of  the  B.  Y. 
P.  U.  in  its  reorganization  is  a  lawyer  in 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  and  many  of  the  others 
who  did  so  much  to  keep  the  work  going  in 
the  beginning  are  living  in  other  towns. 
Some,  of  course,  have  crossed  the  river, 
and  are  with  us  no  more. 

What  they  did  still  lives,  and  challenges 
the  young  people  of  today  to  do  their  best 
for  the  Master.  May  we  not  hope  that  be- 
fore another  year,  we  may  have  seven,  or 
eight  good  lively  B.  Y.  P.  U's.  all  in  our 
church,  and  all  of  our  young  people  utilized 
for  the  Master.  We  have  some  of  the  finest 
young  people  to  be  found  in  the  state,  but 
they  are  not  trained  in  church  work  like 
they  should  be.  The  B.  Y.  P.  U.  is  the  only 
chance.  No  greater  work  has  ever  been 
projected  by  the  Baptists  of  the  South. 
Young  people,  get  ready  for  service  in  His 
vineyard.  The  Master  needs  you  so  much. 
Remember  the  spirit  of  the  B.  Y.  P.  U., 
and  ever  keep  II  Tim.  2:15  in  mind.  Do 
what  Paul  told  Timothy  to  do,  and  you 
will  mean  much  to  the  Master's  kingdom. 

iNOTe: — The  old  B.  Y.  P.  U.  book  was  found  at  Broth- 


327 


er  W.  D.  McDaniel's.  It  (had  been  lost  for  a  long  time 
but  he  dug  it  up  and  gave  it  to  the  pastor.  It  states 
that  there  was  a  B.  Y.  P.  U.  at  Kings  Mountain  as 
e&rly  as  Uuly  19  04.  Tlhe  first  meeting  was  held  tine 
first  jSunday  in  August  of  that  year.  W.  D.  McDaniel 
iv  as  the  first  President,  and  Miss  Clara  Carpenter  tlhe 
first  Secretary.  No  vfce  president  was  elected  until  the 
following  year,  then  Brother  D.  P.  Hord  was  elected. 
The  following  were  tllie  first  members:  Cora  Bauim- 
gardner,  Jcsie  Baumgardner,  Lillie  Baumgardner, 
Clarence  Baumgardner,  Lula  Carpenter.  Daisy  Carpen- 
ter, Clarence  Carpenter,  Troy  Carpenter,  W.  F.  Styers; 
Miss  Hattie  Kendrick,  John  Delevee,  J.  R.  Reynolds, 
I.  A.  Norman,  W.  H.  Caldwell.  Willie  Wright,  Willie 
Morris,  May  Morris,  D.  F.  Hord.  Jce  Kendrick;  S.  8. 
Weir,  A.  B.  Hord,  R.  S.  Stroup,  Noah  Caldpvell;  Mrs. 
A.  P.  Carpenter,  Elmier  Herndon,  Rossie  Kendrick, 
Lillie  Wihite,  Etta  Saunders,  Harold  Sims,  Frank  Mc- 
Daniel, Hunter  Patterson,  Emima  Cornwell,  Bessie 
Cornwell,  Margie  Hord,  Ethel  Abbott,  Evelyn  Abbott-, 
Feral  Hord.  Jennie  Hord,  Laura  Allen;  Mary  Kendrick; 
Ab.  McDaniel,  Martin  Patterson.  All  of  the  names  are 
given  as  they  were  written  in  the  roll  book  of  that  day. 


328 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  FIRST  CLERK 

And  Other  Clerks  Who  Have  Served  From 
The  Organization  of  the  Church  Until 
1926.  The  Importance  of  the  Clerk's  Office. 


The  first  brother  to  serve  this  church  in 
the  capacity  of  clerk  was  Col.  P.  P.  Hoke. 
He  was  elected  when  the  church  was  or- 
ganized and  served  until  1892.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  efficient  clerks  the  church  has 
ever  had.  He  it  was  who  arranged  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Faith  and  the  Church  Covenant 
that  were  so  highly  commended  when  the 
church  was  admitted  into  the  Kings  Moun- 
tain association,  but  all  of  these  valuable 
documents  have  been  lost,  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  restore  them.  But  what  a  pity  it  is 
that  they  are  lost.  Our  churches  ought  to 
be  made  to  realize  the  importance  of  such 
things. 

J.  W.  Wright  was  elected  t(>  succeed  Col 
Hoke.  He  served  during  the  year  of  1893. 

T.  B.  Mangum  succeeded  J.  W.  Wright* 
and  served  just  one  year. 

N.  W.  Ross  served  during  the  year  of 
1895,  A.  E.  Clayton  served  during  the  year 
of  1896,  W.  A.  Williams  served  during  the 
year  of  1897,  T.  F,  Cummings  during  the 

329 


COL,.  P.  P.  HOKE 


330 


year  of  1898,  C.  T.  Cornwell  during  the 
year  of  1899,  and  Claude  A.  Miller  served 
during  the  year  of  1900.  Brother  Miller 
was  a  grandson  of  Col.  Hoke.  He  died  May 
10th.,  1920.  His  family  lives  at  Buffalo,  S. 
C.  Brother  Miller  possessed  much  musical 
talent,  and  one  of  his  sons  is  especially 
gifted  along  this  line.  This  is  Dan  Miller, 
who  is  the  electrician  at  the  Buffalo  Mills 
at  Buffalo,  S.  C. 

George  W.  Kendrick  succeeded  Brother 
Miller,  and  served  just  one  year,  1901. 
Brother  Kendrick  is  dead  also.  He  died  sev- 
eral years  ago.  His  widow  is  still  living, 
and  is  one  of  the  most  consecrated  women 
we  have  in  our  church.  She  lives  in  Kings 
Mountain  at  present.  She  moved  here  re- 
cently from  Columbia,  S.  C,  where  she 
has  living  her  daughter  for  some  time. 

Brother  Kendrick  was  succeeded  by  L. 
B.  Hines  who  served  during  the  year  of 
1902,  then  S.  S.  Weir  was  elected  clerk  and 
served  nine  successive  years.  Brother 
Weir's  term  of  office  ended  1911.  Brother 
Weir  was  one  of  the  best  clerks  the  church 
has  had.  His  minutes  are  very  fine,  and 
have  aided  much  in  the  preparation  of  this 
little  book.  They  are  written  in   a  legible 

331 


hand,  and  they  are  very  clear  concerning 
the  matters  under  consideration. 
When  Brother  Weir  resigned,  Brother  D. 
F.  Hord  was  elected  clerk,  and  served  from 
1911  until  1923.  Brother  Hord  made  an  ex- 
ceedingly fine  clerk.  He  was  interested  in 
work  of  his  church,  and  as  clerk  he  did  his 
best.  His  minutes,  like  those  of  Brother 
Weir's  are  very  fine,  and  have  added  much 
to  this  work.  He  wrote  a  good  hand  and 
made  all  of  his  points  clear.  He  resigned  in 
1923  because  he  had  had  so  many  other 
duties  to  perform.  He  has  always  been  load- 
ed to  the  breaking  point  with  church  work. 
When  he  resigned,  C.  E.  Carpenter,  grand- 
son of  Col.  Hoke,  was  elected  clerk,  and  is 
still  serving  in  this  capacity.  Clarence  is  one 
of  the  assistants  in  the  Peoples  Loan  and 
Trust  Company.  He  is  a  very  fine  clerk.  He 
has  a  nice  loose  leaf  church  book  now,  and 
his  minutes  are  typewritten.  He  is  very  ca- 
pable, and  does  his  work  well. 

We  do  not  have  the  first  church  book.  It 
was  lost  sometime  in  the  past,  possibly  dur- 
ing the  building  of  the  new  church  house. 
No  one  seems  to  remember  very  much 
about  it.  It  had  the  minutes  of  the  first 
eleven  years  of  the  church's  life  in  it.  We 
have  three  books  now.  The  oldest  of  them 
begins  with  1902,  or  the  second  year  of  Rev. 
A.  H.  Sims'  ministry  here.  All  of  the  min- 

332 


utes  prior  to  that  time  have  been  lost.  The 
Articles  of  Faith,  and  the  Church  Covenant 
are  also  lost  because  the  old  book  was  lost. 
But  very  few  churches  have  ever  been  so 
careless  with  their  books.  Bethlehem,  the 
mother  church,  still  has  its  old  books,  and 
they  are  very  interesting  indeed.  All  of  the 
old  church  books  ought  to  be  placed  in  a 
fire-proof  vault,  or  in  a  good  safe  some- 
where so  that  they  may  be  preserved  for 
future  use.  The  writer  has  several  old 
church  books  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old,  and  yet  they  are  in  good  shape.  But 
what  became  of  the  old  book?  Well  no  one 
seems  to  know.  The  country  has  been 
searched  for  it,  but  to  no  avail.  It  cannot  be 
found.  The  only  solution  we  have  been  able 
to  make  of  it  is  that  it  was  destroyed  when 
the  old  church  was  torn  down.  The  old  books 
and  such  things  as  accumulated  in  the  old 
pulpit  were  carried  to  Brother  J.  C.  Baum- 
gardner's  building  on  Mountain  Street, 
placed  in  a  box  that  was  set  in  an  upper 
room  of  that  building.  Some  time  later,  he 
decided  that  the  old  papers  and  trash  that 
were  in  the  old  box  were  worthless  and  had 
them  burned.  The  old  church  book  must 
have  passed  out  this  way.  Possibly  it  was 
worn  and  had  the  back  off  so  that  it  did  not 
appear  to  be  valuable,  and  found  a  resting 
place  in  the  ashes  it  made,  But  it  is  gone. 

333 


This  is  perfectly  plain.  What  a  pity  that  the 
transactions  of  those  trying  years  have  all 
been  lost.  But  there  is  a  record  of  the  faith- 
ful work  done  by  the  brethren  and  sisters 
of  this  church.  It  is  on  high  were  moth  and 
rust  do  not  corrupt  and  thieves  cannot 
break  through  and  steal. 

We  have  all  of  the  minutes  of  the  church 
from  1902  until  now  with  the  exception  of 
3903.  Some  of  that  year  was  missed.  There 
is  no  record  of  the  work  of  that  year.  Some 
say  that  there  was  not  very  much  done,  and 
that  the  pastor  did  not  have  many  confer- 
ences. When  he  did,  they  were  called  con- 
ferences, and  the  clerk  did  not  get  minutes 
of  them. 

There  is  no  more  important  office  in  our 
churches  than  that  of  our  clerks.  They  are 
the  historians  of  our  denomination.  If  they 
do  their  work  well,  we  have  our  history,  but 
if  they  fail  we  do  not  have  it,  and  our  com- 
plete history  cannot  be  preserved.  Much  of 
the  history  of  our  great  churches  of  the 
past  is  lost  because  our  clerks  did  not  do 
their  work  well.  There  ought  to  be  a  school 
for  church  clerks,  and  every  church  ought  to 
see  that  its  clerk  attends  long  enough  to 
learn  how  to  keep  records  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  church  conferences  and  such 
other  matters  as  are  worth  wiiile  for  hist- 
ory. Some  brother  ought  to  write  a  book 

334 


on  The  Church  Clerk.  We  have  a  small  book 
on  this  line,  but  it  is  not  worth  much  be- 
cause so  few  get  hold  of  it.  The  Convention 
ought  to  take  hold  of  it  and  offer  some  kind 
of  reward  for  the  study  of  it. 

Let  us  hope  that  our  clerks  in  the  future 
may  be  better  than  those  in  the  past,  but 
they  do  not  have  the  chance  to  record  the 
important  things  that  those  of  the  past  had. 
Baptists  were  here  when  this  nation  was  in 
the  making  and  what  they  did  should  not 
be  unnoticed,  but  much  of  it  is  lost,  and  be- 
cause of  this,  cannot  be  mentioned  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country.  There  is  no 
Use  to  grieve  over  the  past,  but  let  us  mak^ 
good  the  future, 


CLARENCE  E.  CARPENTER 
Our  present  clerk.  He  is  a  grandson  of  the  first  clerk, 
Col.  P.  P.  Hoke. 


336 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  BOARD  OF  DEACONS 


The  First  Baptist  church  has  always  had 
a  good  board  of  deacons,  and  the  present 
board  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The  pres- 
ent board  has  eleven  men  on  it,  and  all  of 
them  are  capable  business  men.  J.  C.  Baum- 
gardner  is  the  chairman  of  the  Board,  D.  F. 
Hord,  clerk,  and  the  following  are  mem- 
bers: R.  C.  Gold,  G.  G.  Page,  G.  D.  Ham- 
bright,  J.  R.  Reynolds,  J.  R.  Roberts,  M.  E. 
Herndon,  S.  S.  Weir,  W.  K.  White,  and  I.  H. 
Patterson. 

J.  C.  Baumgardner  is  a  retired  business 
man  who  was  in  the  organization  of  the 
church  and  has  been  a  member  of  it  ever 
since  that  time.  He  has  been  on  the  board  of 
deacons  since  a  few  months  after  its  organ- 
ization. He  is  now  somewhat  advanced  in 
years,  but  is  still  very  active  and  attends 
the  meeting  of  the  board  regularly.  D.  F. 
Hord  is  a  business  man.  He  has  charge  of 
the  D.  F.  Hord  Furniture  Company  of  this 
place.  He  is  a  most  faithful  member  of  the 
board  and  always  attends  the  meetings.  R. 
C.  Gold  is  one  of  our  grocerymen  and  is  a 
very  earnest  member  of  the  board.  G.  G. 
Page  is  the  editor  of  our  town  paper,  The 
Kings  Mountain  Herald.  He  is  always  at  the 

337 


board  meetings  and  is  an  earnest,  zealous 
Baptist  who  wants  nothing  but  the  right 
thing  done  by  the  board.  G.  D.  Hambright 
manages  The  Kings  Mountain  Oil  Company 
and  has  other  business  interests  here.  He 
has  been  very  sick  for  the  past  year  and  has 
not  been  able  to  do  all  that  he  wished  to  do 
in  regard  to  his  church,  but  he  is  a  f  our* 
square  man  who  stands  for  nothing  but  the 
right.  He  attends  all  of  the  meetings  of  the 
board  when  he  is  able  to  get  out.  J.  R.  Rey- 
nolds runs  The  Leading  Cafe,  and  feeds  the 
people  who  are  hungry.  He  runs  ail  up-to- 
date  eating  house,  and  is  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  our  to.wn.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
two  candidates  to  be  baptised  here  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Baptist  work  at  this  place. 
J.  R.  Roberts  is  superintendent  of  The  Cora 
Mill  and  is  also  treasurer  of  our  church.  He 
is  a  fine  fellow  and  always  tries  to  do  his 
duty.  M.  E.  Herndon  is  cashier  of  The  Peo- 
ple's Loan  and  Trust  Company.  He  is  one  of 
the  very  best  business  men  we  have  in  our 
town,  and  enjoys  the  confidence  of  all  of  the 
church  and  community.  He  has  not  been  on 
the  board  very  long,  but  he  is  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place.  S.  S.  Weir  is  our  post- 
master, and  is  a  very  fine  man.  He  com- 
mands the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  f el^ 
low  citizens. 
L  H.  Patterson  is  the  oldest  member  of  the 
338 


<3ASTON  UTTLEJOHX 


339 


On  the  opposite  page  are  the  cuts  of  the 
Board  of  Deaconsv 


1.  — J.  C.  Baumgardner 

2.  — M.  E.  Herndon 

3.  — R.  C,  Gold 

4.  — G.  D.  Hambright 

5.  — J.  R.  Reynolds 
\  6— G.  G.  Page 

7.  — W.  K.  White 

8.  — J.  R.  Roberts 

9.  — I.  H.  Patterson 

10.  — S.  S.  Weir 

11. — D.  F.  Hord 


340 


board.  He  is  not  able  to  get  out  to  the  meet- 
ings of  the  board  very  much,  but  is  interest- 
ed in  the  work  of  the  church,  and  is  always 
ready  to  do  anything  he  is  needed  to  look 
after.  He  has  been  very  sick  for  the  past 
few  months,  but  is  now  steadily  regaining 
his  strength.  He  is  a  jovial  spirited  man, 
and  one  of  the  best  men  we  have  on  the 
board.  He  is  not  physically  able  to  get  out 
to  the  board  meetings,  but  he  is  ever  ready 
to  do  all  that  he  can  for  the  uplift  of  the 
Lord's  work.  He  is  one  of  the  most  liberal 
men  we  have,  and  does  his  part  without  com- 
plaining. 

Some  churches  may  have  as  good  a  set  of 
deacons  as  this  one,  but  none  has  any  bet- 
ter. All  of  them  are  men  who  want  nothing 
but  the  right  thing  done.  They  may  differ 
concerning  matters  that  we  have  to  consid- 
er, but  their  disagreements  do  not  amount 
to  anything.  When  they  express  themselves, 
they  always  seem  to  be  aiming  at  the  same 
thing.  They  are  men  who  know  the  town 
and  community,  and  nearly  all  of  the  folks- 
who  live  here.  If  the  banker  does  not  know 
a  fellow,  the  postmaster  does,  so  we  have 
them  all.  So  many  sides  of  the  business  life 
of  our  town  are  represented  in  the  board  of 
deacons  that  we  know  every  man  in  our 
town  from  a  business  standpoint,  as  well  as 
a  religious  standpoint. 

342 


This  last  word  about  the  board  of  dea- 
cons :  can  they  have  your  support  and  pray- 
ers? The  interest  you  take  in  them  will 
largely  determine  what  they  do  for  the 
church  you  have  elected  them  deacons  of. 
They  need  your  encouragement,  your  sym- 
pathy, and  your  earnest  prayers.  The  busi- 
ness part  of  the  church  is  in  their  hands, 
and  they  need  all  the  cooperation  from  the 
members  of  the  church  they  can  get  to  make 
this  part  of  the  work  a  success.  Let  us  ap- 
preciate them  and  labor  with  them  to  make 
our  church  as  great  as  it  can  be.  Our  dea- 
cons are  the  executive  committee  of  our 
church.  If  they  do  not  get  the  loyal  support 
of  the  members  of  our  church,  how  can  they 
manage  the  finances  of  it?  How  can  they 
erect  the  standard  of  morality  and  clean 
Christian  living  they  are  supposed  to  if 
they  do  not  get  the  support  of  the  church 
they  are  deacons  of?  Let  us  do  our  part  in 
trying  to  make  our  church  second  to  none* 


343 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  CHURCH'S  PRESENT  OUTLOOK 

Our  Membership,  Our  Young  People,  Our 
Opportunity,  Our  Responsibility. 

The  church's  present  outlook  is  a  glance 
at  the  future.  Thisjs  rather  prophetical,  but 
we  can  judge  the  future  by  the  things  we 
have  to  reason  from  at  the  present.  It  is  not 
prophecy  to  say  that  this  or  that  will  come 
to  pass  when  we  know  that  certain  causes 
produce  certain  effects.  Such  is  the  case 
with  the  future  of  our  church.  When  we 
have  things  arranged  to  do  the  greatest 
work  the  Baptists  of  the  town  have  ever 
planned,  we  know  that  if  we  cooperate  as 
we  should,  we  are  going  to  accomplish  the 
desired  results. 

The  first  noticeable  thing  we  wish  to 
mention  is  the  opportunity  we  have  for 
Sunday  School  work.  It  is  unparalelled  in 
the  history  of  the  church.  We  now  have 
nine  hundred  and  eight  enrolled  in  the  Sun- 
day School,  and  we  have  the  opportunity 
of  enrolling  two  hundred  more  if  we  will 
work  as  we  should.  The  people  are  here, 
and  they  want  to  attend,  and  they  will  at- 
tend our  church  and  Sunday  School  if  we 
make  them  know  that  we  want  them.  Folks 

344 


are  funny  beings  these  days.  They  will  not 
attend  church  and  Sunday  School  without 
a  great  big  invitation,  and  it  underscored 
twice.  The  spirit  of  advertising  has  become 
so  great  that  folks  depend  on  it  altogether, 
and  they  will  not  go  to  church  if  they  are 
not  invited  as  warmly  as  they  can  be.  Then 
too,  you  must  shake  their  hands  when  they 
go  as  heartily  as  you  have  invited  them.  If 
our  church  tries  worth  while,  it  can  have 
one  thousand  in  Sunday  School  with  a  reg- 
ular attendance  of  eight  hundred  during 
the  year  of  1926  and  1927. 

The  second  thing  that  we  must  mention 
is  our  young  people.  We  have  the  most  of 
them  in  our  church  that  can  be  found  in  a 
church  the  size  of  this  anywhere  in  the 
state.  Our  church  has  them  by  the  dozens, 
and  they  are  intelligent  too.  We  have  a 
number  of  college  graduates,  and  a  num- 
ber of  high  school  graduates  to  help  us 
with  our  different  organizations.  We  do 
not  have  all  of  them  utilized,  but  we  have 
them  and  we  are  to  blame  for  not  having 
them  enlisted.  The  church  has  the  most 
wonderful  opportunity  with  its  young  peo- 
ple that  it  has  in  any  phase  of  its  work.  We 
have  singers,  teachers,  leaders,  and  young 
folks  to  do  anything  we  need  to  have  done 
for  the  Master  if  we  only  had  them  organ- 
ized and  trained  for   service.     We  have 

845 


enough  of  them  to  organize  four  senior  B. 
Y.  P.  LPs.,  and  still  have  enough  reserves 
to  make  up  all  deficiencies.  We  have 
enough  good  singers  to  have  one  of  the 
best  choirs  in  the  city,  and  even  in  the 
state.  We  have  enough  young  folks,  and 
they  are  intelligent  enough  to  have  one  of 
the  best  choruses  to  be  found  anywhere. 
But  why  do  we  not  have  it?  Is  it  not  be- 
cause we  do  not  have  the  interest  in  the 
work  that  we  should  have?  Nothing  else 
can  be  in  the  way.  How  will  this  interest 
come  about?  By  the  parents  of  the  children 
encouraging  them  to  do  their  best  work 
for  the  Master. 

The  third  matter  we  wish  to  notice  in 
closing  this  little  book  is  the  outlook  for 
the  town.  This  town  is  destined  to  grow  in- 
to an  enormous  city  of  many  thousands. 
Now,  it  is  an  accepted  fact  that  a  large 
percent  of  the  population  of  the  south  are 
Baptists.  With  the  increase  in  the  popula- 
tion of  the  town,  will  not  the  membership 
of  the  church  grow  in  proportion  with  the 
town?  It  most  surely  will.  If  our  church 
will  keep  up  with  the  growth  of  the  town, 
it  will  soon  double  its  membership,  and 
this  will  mean  that  it  will  have  more  than 
a  thousand  members  before  very  long.  It 
now  has  nearly  five  hundred,  and  is  hoping 
to  close  this  year  with  five  hundred  ac~ 

346 


tive  members. 

What  does  our  church  need  most?  What 
do  you  think  that  it  needs  most?  Is  it 
money?  No,  it  is  not  money.  Is  it  more  or- 
ganizations and  better  ones?  No,  we  do  not 
have  enough  organization,  and  what  we 
have  are  not  as  good  as  they  should  be,  but 
that  is  not  what  we  need  most.  Is  it  a  lar- 
ger membership  that  we  need  most?  Well, 
we  could  use  many  more  members  than  we 
have,  and  we  need  every  Baptist  who  lives 
within  the  bounds  of  our  church,  but  this 
is  not  what  we  need  most?  But  you  say, 
"What  is  it  then?"  Well,  I'll  tell  you,  and 
when  I  do,  will  you  remember  it  for  all 
time  to  come?  It  is  deeper  consecration  to 
God.  How  we  fail  on  this  point.  We  can 
never  do  the  Lord's  bidding  until  we  com- 
pletely dedicate  all  that  we  have  to  the 
Lord  and  His  work.  If  we  had  the  conse- 
cration that  we  should  have,  we  could  do 
anything  we  wished  to.  Our  Sunday  School 
annex  would  be  a  small  undertaking,  and 
anything  else  we  undertook  for  the  Lord 
would  be  as  nothing,  if  we  were  consecra- 
ted to  the  Lord's  work  as  we  should  be. 
Then  let  us  for  all  the  years  to  come,  lay 
all  that  we  are  and  all  that  we  have  upon 
the  altar  of  God  and  let  Him  use  it  to  His 
glory.  Let  us  make  church  life  so  attrac- 
tive that  those  who  do  not  know  Him  mav 

347 


desire  to  know  him  because  of  what  he  does 
for  us.  Let  us  live  so  close  to  Him  that  we 
will  not  feel  that  we  are  not  at  home  in  the 
Lord's  house,  but  that  we  may  feel  so  much 
so  that  we  may  look  for  the  vacant  places 
and  do  our  best  to  fill  them  without  being 
invited  to  do  so.  The  choir  will  always  be 
full  if  we  do  this,  and  the  treasurer's  bank 
account  will  always  be  large  enough  to  en- 
able him  to  pay  all  of  his  bills,  and  then 
have  a  nice  balance  in  the  bank. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


7) 


THE  CHURCHES  ROUND  ABOUT 

Bethlehem,  The  Second  Church,  Macedonia 
Their  Membership,  Pastors,  and  Their 
Sunday  Schools. 


The  First  Baptist  church  at  Kings 
Mountain  received  its  first  members  from 
several  churches,  but  the  most  of  them 
came  from  Bethlehem  Baptist  church. 
Bethlehem  is  located  about  five  miles  out 
in  the  country  in  a  very  fine  community. 

Bethlehem  became  an  arm  of  Antioch 
Baptist  church  in  1841.  Several  Baptists 
were  living  in  the  community  of  Bethlehem 
at  that  time  (the  community  was  called 
White  Plains)  being  so  far  removed  from 
any  Baptist  church  decided  that  they 
would  build  a  meeting  house  and  asked  the 
Baptist  church  at  Antioch  to  make  them 
an  arm  so  that  they  could  receive  mem- 
bers and  baptise  them.  Their  request  was 
granted  and  they  began  work  for  their 
Lord.  Elder  R.  P.  Logan  began  preaching 
for  them,  and  held  services  for  several 
months  with  great  success.  The  Lord  seem- 
ed to  be  well  pleased  with  their  efforts,  and 
so  the  brethren  decided  that  they  would 
become  a  regularly  organized  church.  To 

349 


BETHLEHEM  BAPTIST  OHCKCSH 


350 


carry  out  their  plans,  the  following  pres- 
bytery was  called  to  assist  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church:  Elder  Drury  Dob- 
bins, Elder  R.  P.  Logan,  together  with  th£ 
deacons  of  the  surrounding  Baptist 
churches.  After  the  presbytery  was  organ- 
ized, the  following  members  presented  let- 
ters to  become  members  of  the  new 
church ;  Elder  R.  P.  Logan,  Belinda  Logan, 
James  Alton,  Elizabeth  Alton  Zechariah 
Earls,  Preston  Harmon,  Elizabeth  Har- 
mon, Elijah  Spurling,  Susan  Spurling, 
Nancy  Collins,  Nathan  Earls,  Mariah 
Lutz,  Benjamin  Watterson,  Sarah  Spur- 
ling^  Elizabeth  Spurling,  John  McArthur, 
William  Camp,  Mary  Patterson,  David  H, 
Harmon,  Mary  Watterson,  Louisa  Earls, 
Sarah  Earls,  Jemmima  Earls,  Marths  Jar- 
rell,  Talitha  McArthur,  and  Fannie  Camp, 
This  meeting  was  held  the  16th  day  of 
July,  1842. 

Zecheriah  Earls,  James  Alton,  and  Pres- 
ton Harmon  were  elected  the  first  deacons. 

The  church  records  were  kept  by  Elder 
R,  P.  Logan  until  B.  Goforth  joined.  He 
was  elected  to  fill  the  clerk's  place,  and 
thus  became  the  first  regular  church  clerk, 
Bethlehem  Baptist  church  is  located  on  the 
Dixon  Gap  road  in  Cleveland  county  about 
ten  miles  south  east  of  Shelby.  The  Dixon 
Gap  road  leads  from  Shelby  to  York,  S.  C, 

351 


five  miles  west  of  Kings  Mountain,  and 
about  two  miles  from  the  point  where  the 
Airline  rail  road  crosses  the  Dixon  Gap 
road. 

The  land  upon  which  the  church  was 
built  was  given  to  the  church  by  Dr. 
Thomas  Williams  of  Shelby. 

Bethlehem  Baptist  church  joined  the 
Kings  Mountain  Baptist  association  in 
1854.  It  must  have  been  a  member  of  the 
Broad  River  until  this  time. 

Rev.  W.  N.  Cook  is  the  present  pastor 
of  Bethlehem  church.  He  has  been  with 
them  but  a  short  time,  but  has  made  some 
wonderful  strides  in  the  work.  The  church 
ip  getting  ready  to  build  a  new  house  of 
worship.  They  have  a  unique  idea  for  rais- 
ing the  money  with  which  to  build  it.  They 
have  set  apart  a  number  of  acres  of  land  to 
be  used  for  this  purpose.  The  land  is  in  cot- 
ton. The  cotton  is  to  be  sold  and  the  pro- 
ceeds to  be  applied  to  the  building  fund. 

SECOND  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

The  Second  Baptist  church  at  Kings 
Mountain  was  organized  June  13th.,  1915. 
Ihe  presbytery  was  composed  of  Revs. 
John  R.  Miller,  B.  B.  Hill,  and  W.  V. 
Mess.  The  following  deacons  served  also; 
J.  C.  Baumgardner,  C.  T.  Cornwell,  Forest 
Floyd,  G.  D.  Hambright,  J.    R.  Roberts, 

352 


and  D.  F.  Hord  from  Kings  Mountain 
Baptist  church,  and  T.  A.  Gladden  from 
Crowder's  Mountain  Baptist  church.  John 
R.  Miller  was  elected  moderator  and  D.  P. 
Hord  secretary.  The  door  of  the  church 
was  opened  and  twenty  seven  came  for- 
ward. They  were  as  follows :  R.  L.  Chaney, 
J.  G.  Riddle,  Carl  Presley,  Cicero  Peeler, 
L.  C.  England,  Hugh  Williams,  Ira  Brid- 
ges, J.  T.  Baurngardner,  W.  H.  Baumgard- 
ner,  W.  H.  Gantt,  D.  D.  Lankford,  G.  W. 
Bridges,  J.  B.  Bruce,  C.  F.  Turner,  R.  P. 
Green,  and  Sisters  R.  L.  Chaney,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Riddle,  R.  P.  Green,  Mrs.  Mina  Tate,  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Gantt,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Baurngardner,  Mrs. 
G.  W.  Bridges,  Mrs.  L.  C.  England,  Mrs. 
Lula  Putnam,  Miss  Docia  Riddle,  and  Miss 
Ola  Baurngardner.  The  church  now  has  a 
membership  of  two   hundred   and  fifty 


SECOND  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

353 


eight.  It  has  a  v6ry  fine  Sunday  School 
and  good  B.  Y.  P.  U's.  Rev.  W.  N.  Cook  is 
the  present  pastor.  He  succeeded  Dr.  H.  V. 
Tanner* 

The  following  have  served  as  pastor: 
Rev.  John  R.  Miller,  1915 ;  Rev.  L.  A.  Ban- 
gle, 1915-1918;  Rev.  John  Hicks,  1918;  Rev, 
J.  W.  Davis  served  for  sometime.  After 
him  came  Dr.  Tanner  and  the  last  and  pres- 
ent pastor,  Rev.  W.  N.  Cook.  The  church 
seems  to  be  in  a  good  working  condition  at 
present.  It  is  located  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  town  near  the  Cora  Mill. 


MACEDONIA  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

Macedonia  Baptist  church  was  organiz- 
ed October  31st,  1920,  Rev.  J,  J,  Hicks 
seems  to  have  taken  the  lead  in  the  work. 
He  was  pastor  at  East  Kings  Mountain 
Baptist  church  at  this  time,  and  seems  to 
have  been  preaching  at  the  Park  Yarn  Mill 
occasionally.  The  First  Baptist  church  and 
the  Second  church  were  both  invited  to 
take  part  in  the  organization  of  this  church. 

The  following  from  East  Kings  Moun- 
tain Baptist  church,  now  known  as  the 
Second  church,  were  present;  Rev.  J.  J. 
Hicks,  H.  B.  King,  J.  C.  King,  J.  A.  Cul- 
bertson,  R.  L.  Chaney,  J.  A.  Hutchins,  Mrs. 
H.  B.  King,  Miss  Bertha  King,  Miss  Sadie 
King  and  Miss  Martha  King. 

From  the  First  Baptist  church  the  fol- 
lowing were  present;  Rev.  J.  0.  Fulbright, 
Prof.  F.  C.  Nye,  C.  T.  Cornwell,  R.  C.  Gold 
J.  R.  Roberts,  J.  R.  Reynolds,  D.  F.  Horrl, 
W.  D.  Weaver,  G.  D.  Hambright,  G.  G. 
Page,  H.  W.  Williams,  W.  F.  Styers,  W.  H. 
Caldwell,  Joe  Lee  Woodward,  Marvin  Led- 
ford,  W.  A.  Morris,  E.  B.  Bridges,  L.  C, 
England,  Wm.  G.  Parker,  and  Smiley 
Burnette.  The  following  sisters  were  pres- 
ent; Mrs.  F.  C.  Nye,  Mrs.  D.  F.  Hord,  Mrs. 
R.  C.  Gold,  Mrs.  C.  T.  Cornwell,  Mrs.  W. 
A.  Morris,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Lipford,  Mrs.  C.  F. 
Stowe,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Roberts,  Miss  Margaret 

355 


Kendiiek,  Miss  Sarah  Robarfii  and  Miss 
Bessie  Weaver. 

Rev.  J.  0.  Fulhright  was  elected  modera- 
tor of  the  presbytery  and  Brother  B.  F. 
Hord,  secretary. 

The  door  of  the  church  Was  opened  and 
the  following  members  indented  thtm- 
selves:  R.  A.  Bookout,  W.  H,  Moss,  Char** 
lie  Bridges.  G.  B.  Morris,  J.  H.  Stafford, 
Theodore  Moss,  and  S.  C.  Jollay,  and  the 
following:  sisters ;  Mrs.  R.  A.  Bookout,  Mrs, 
Novella  Phillips,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Moss,  Mrs.  S. 
C,  Jollav,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Stafford,  and  Misi 
Laney  Moss. 

Brethren  W.  H.  Moss,  R.  A.  Bookout,  S. 
S<  Jollay,  and  Theodore  Moss  were  elected 
to  serve  as  deacons.  These  brethren  were 
duly  ordained  before  the  meeting  adjourn-* 
ed. 

Rev.  J.  J,  Hicks  wag  called  to  serve  as 
Pastor  of  the  new  church  and  he  accepted; 
Fe  served  until  Sentember  1924.  Rev* 
Clarence  Wylie  ws*  then  called  and  served 
one  year.  Brother  Wes]e^  Davis  was  called 
to  succeed  him.  He  e«rwd  a  p^v,  of  $  year. 
The  church  then  called  Rev.  W.  T.  Doster 
of  Shelby. 

This  church  has  some  of  the  best  work- 
ers in  Kings  Mountain  in  it,  and  it  is  do- 
ing5 a  great  work.  The  greatest  draw  back 
it  has  is  the  pastoral  service  it  gets.  It 

356 


hag  always  had  a  good  mail  for  pistoj*,  but 
It  has  ilivir  had  a  pastor  to  live  here  go 
that  he  could  do  the  pastoral  Work  the 
church  needs-  We  hope  that  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Kings  Mountain  asso- 
ciation may  see  their  way  clear  to  help  this 
itrugfliriR  church  some  so  that  it  can  call 
a  pastor  for  full  time,  or  for  full  half  time 
at  least  and  trive  the  Lord's  work  a  fair 
showing  at  the  Margrace  and  the  Park 
Yarn. 

(Now,  my  story  is  over.  The  task  has 
been  great,  but  it  has  been  a  pleasant  one. 
May  this  little  story  of  service  and  sacri- 
fice £o  forth  through  the  years  to  come  to 
comfort,  cheer,  smd  enliven  those  who  must; 
follow  us\  May  the  peace  of  God  which 
passeth  all  understanding  rest  upon  all 
those  of  whom  this  little  book  tells  the 
story. 

This  little  book  lavs  no  claim  to  perfec- 
tion, but  the  author  has  done  the  very  best 
he  could  With  what  he  had  to  write  from. 
The  story  is  ps  complete  as  he  could  make 
it.  He  might  have  done  better  if  he  had 
not  had  a  heavy  pastorate  to  care  for  while 
he  Was  writing*  it.  You  will  find  several 
grammatical  mistakes  in  it.  They  have 
been  hard  to  keep  out.  So  many  things  en- 
ter into  the  make  up  of  a  book  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  keep  all  of  the  mis- 

357 


takes  out,  but  we  have  done  the  best  we 
could  on  it.  Read  its  pages  with  all  the 
sympathy  that  you  can,  admire  the  heroic 
faith  of  its  actors,  and  you  will  not  think 
of  the  few  mistakes  that  have  been  left  in 
it. 

This  last  word— do  not  throw  this  little 
book  around  and  allow  it  to  get  destroyed, 
It  will  be  verv  valuable  some  day;  so  take 
care  of  it  and  hand  it  down  to  those  who 
are  to  follow  us.) 


358 


DATE  DUE 

DEMC  O  38-297 

Ni.ei7Z093oa 


